Automatic device and vehicle pairing

ABSTRACT

An example operation includes one or more of receiving, by a server, vehicle identification data from at least two components in a vehicle and device data from a device associated with the vehicle, sending, by the server, the vehicle identification data to the device and the device data to the at least two components in the vehicle, and pre-pairing the vehicle and the device, based on the sending.

BACKGROUND

Vehicles or transports, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, planes,trains, etc., generally provide transportation needs to occupants and/orgoods in a variety of ways. Functions related to transports may beidentified and utilized by various computing devices, such as asmartphone or a computer located on and/or off the transport.

SUMMARY

One example embodiment provides a method that includes one or more ofreceiving, by a server, vehicle identification data from at least twocomponents in a vehicle and device data from a device associated withthe vehicle, sending, by the server, the vehicle identification data tothe device and the device data to the at least two components in thevehicle, and pre-pairing the vehicle and the device, based on thesending.

Another example embodiment provides a system that includes a memorycommunicably coupled to a processor, wherein the processor performs oneor more of receive vehicle identification data from at least twocomponents in a vehicle and device data from a device associated withthe vehicle, send the vehicle identification data to the device and thedevice data to the at least two components in the vehicle, and pre-pairthe vehicle and the device, based on a server sends the vehicleidentification data.

A further example embodiment provides a computer readable storage mediumcomprising instructions, that when read by a processor, cause theprocessor to perform one or more of receiving, by a server, vehicleidentification data from at least two components in a vehicle and devicedata from a device associated with the vehicle, sending, by the server,the vehicle identification data to the device and the device data to theat least two components in the vehicle, and pre-pairing the vehicle andthe device, based on the sending.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example diagram of automatic device and vehiclepairing, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 2A illustrates a transport network diagram, according to exampleembodiments.

FIG. 2B illustrates another transport network diagram, according toexample embodiments.

FIG. 2C illustrates yet another transport network diagram, according toexample embodiments.

FIG. 2D illustrates a further transport network diagram, according toexample embodiments.

FIG. 2E illustrates yet a further transport network diagram, accordingto example embodiments.

FIG. 2F illustrates a diagram depicting electrification of one or moreelements, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 2G illustrates a diagram depicting interconnections betweendifferent elements, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 2H illustrates a further diagram depicting interconnections betweendifferent elements, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 2I illustrates yet a further diagram depicting interconnectionsbetween elements, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 2J illustrates yet a further diagram depicting a keyless entrysystem, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 2K illustrates yet a further diagram depicting a CAN within atransport, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 2L illustrates yet a further diagram depicting an end-to-endcommunication channel, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 2M illustrates yet a further diagram depicting an example oftransports performing secured V2V communications using securitycertificates, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 2N illustrates yet a further diagram depicting an example of atransport interacting with a security processor and a wireless device,according to example embodiments.

FIG. 3A illustrates a flow diagram, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 3B illustrates another flow diagram, according to exampleembodiments.

FIG. 3C illustrates yet another flow diagram, according to exampleembodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates a machine learning transport network diagram,according to example embodiments.

FIG. 5A illustrates an example vehicle configuration for managingdatabase transactions associated with a vehicle, according to exampleembodiments.

FIG. 5B illustrates another example vehicle configuration for managingdatabase transactions conducted among various vehicles, according toexample embodiments.

FIG. 6A illustrates a blockchain architecture configuration, accordingto example embodiments.

FIG. 6B illustrates another blockchain configuration, according toexample embodiments.

FIG. 6C illustrates a blockchain configuration for storing blockchaintransaction data, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 6D illustrates example data blocks, according to exampleembodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example system that supports one or more of theexample embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It will be readily understood that the instant components, as generallydescribed and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged anddesigned in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, thefollowing detailed description of the embodiments of at least one of amethod, apparatus, computer readable storage medium and system, asrepresented in the attached figures, is not intended to limit the scopeof the application as claimed but is merely representative of selectedembodiments. Multiple embodiments depicted herein are not intended tolimit the scope of the solution. The computer-readable storage mediummay be a non-transitory computer readable medium or a non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium.

Communications between the transport(s) and certain entities, such asremote servers, other transports and local computing devices (e.g.,smartphones, personal computers, transport-embedded computers, etc.) maybe sent and/or received and processed by one or more ‘components’ whichmay be hardware, firmware, software or a combination thereof. Thecomponents may be part of any of these entities or computing devices orcertain other computing devices. In one example, consensus decisionsrelated to blockchain transactions may be performed by one or morecomputing devices or components (which may be any element describedand/or depicted herein) associated with the transport(s) and one or moreof the components outside or at a remote location from the transport(s).

The instant features, structures, or characteristics described in thisspecification may be combined in any suitable manner in one or moreembodiments. For example, the usage of the phrases “exampleembodiments,” “some embodiments,” or other similar language, throughoutthis specification refers to the fact that a particular feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentmay be included in at least one example. Thus, appearances of thephrases “example embodiments”, “in some embodiments”, “in otherembodiments,” or other similar language, throughout this specificationdo not necessarily all refer to the same group of embodiments, and thedescribed features, structures, or characteristics may be combined inany suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the diagrams, anyconnection between elements can permit one-way and/or two-waycommunication, even if the depicted connection is a one-way or two-wayarrow. In the current solution, a vehicle or transport may include oneor more of cars, trucks, walking area battery electric vehicle (BEV),e-Palette, fuel cell bus, motorcycles, scooters, bicycles, boats,recreational vehicles, planes, and any object that may be used totransport people and or goods from one location to another.

In addition, while the term “message” may have been used in thedescription of embodiments, other types of network data, such as, apacket, frame, datagram, etc. may also be used. Furthermore, whilecertain types of messages and signaling may be depicted in exemplaryembodiments they are not limited to a certain type of message andsignaling.

Example embodiments provide methods, systems, components, non-transitorycomputer readable medium, devices, and/or networks, which provide atleast one of a transport (also referred to as a vehicle or car herein),a data collection system, a data monitoring system, a verificationsystem, an authorization system, and a vehicle data distribution system.The vehicle status condition data received in the form of communicationmessages, such as wireless data network communications and/or wiredcommunication messages, may be processed to identify vehicle/transportstatus conditions and provide feedback on the condition and/or changesof a transport. In one example, a user profile may be applied to aparticular transport/vehicle to authorize a current vehicle event,service stops at service stations, to authorize subsequent vehiclerental services, and enable vehicle-to-vehicle communications.

Within the communication infrastructure, a decentralized database is adistributed storage system which includes multiple nodes thatcommunicate with each other. A blockchain is an example of adecentralized database, which includes an append-only immutable datastructure (i.e., a distributed ledger) capable of maintaining recordsbetween untrusted parties. The untrusted parties are referred to hereinas peers, nodes, or peer nodes. Each peer maintains a copy of thedatabase records, and no single peer can modify the database recordswithout a consensus being reached among the distributed peers. Forexample, the peers may execute a consensus protocol to validateblockchain storage entries, group the storage entries into blocks, andbuild a hash chain via the blocks. This process forms the ledger byordering the storage entries, as is necessary, for consistency. Inpublic or permissionless blockchains, anyone can participate without aspecific identity. Public blockchains can involve crypto-currencies anduse consensus-based on various protocols such as proof of work (PoW).Conversely, a permissioned blockchain database can secure interactionsamong a group of entities, which share a common goal, but which do notor cannot fully trust one another, such as businesses that exchangefunds, goods, information, and the like. The instant solution canfunction in a permissioned and/or a permissionless blockchain setting.

Smart contracts are trusted distributed applications which leveragetamper-proof properties of the shared or distributed ledger (which maybe in the form of a blockchain) and an underlying agreement betweenmember nodes, which is referred to as an endorsement or endorsementpolicy. In general, blockchain entries are “endorsed” before beingcommitted to the blockchain while entries, which are not endorsed aredisregarded. A typical endorsement policy allows smart contractexecutable code to specify endorsers for an entry in the form of a setof peer nodes that are necessary for endorsement. When a client sendsthe entry to the peers specified in the endorsement policy, the entry isexecuted to validate the entry. After validation, the entries enter anordering phase in which a consensus protocol produces an orderedsequence of endorsed entries grouped into blocks.

Nodes are the communication entities of the blockchain system. A “node”may perform a logical function in the sense that multiple nodes ofdifferent types can run on the same physical server. Nodes are groupedin trust domains and are associated with logical entities that controlthem in various ways. Nodes may include different types, such as aclient or submitting-client node, which submits an entry-invocation toan endorser (e.g., peer), and broadcasts entry proposals to an orderingservice (e.g., ordering node). Another type of node is a peer node,which can receive client submitted entries, commit the entries andmaintain a state and a copy of the ledger of blockchain entries. Peerscan also have the role of an endorser. An ordering-service-node ororderer is a node running the communication service for all nodes andwhich implements a delivery guarantee, such as a broadcast to each ofthe peer nodes in the system when committing entries and modifying aworld state of the blockchain. The world state can constitute theinitial blockchain entry, which normally includes control and setupinformation.

A ledger is a sequenced, tamper-resistant record of all statetransitions of a blockchain. State transitions may result from smartcontract executable code invocations (i.e., entries) submitted byparticipating parties (e.g., client nodes, ordering nodes, endorsernodes, peer nodes, etc.). An entry may result in a set of assetkey-value pairs being committed to the ledger as one or more operands,such as creates, updates, deletes, and the like. The ledger includes ablockchain (also referred to as a chain), which stores an immutable,sequenced record in blocks. The ledger also includes a state database,which maintains a current state of the blockchain. There is typicallyone ledger per channel. Each peer node maintains a copy of the ledgerfor each channel of which they are a member.

A chain is an entry log structured as hash-linked blocks, and each blockcontains a sequence of N entries where N is equal to or greater thanone. The block header includes a hash of the blocks' entries, as well asa hash of the prior block's header. In this way, all entries on theledger may be sequenced and cryptographically linked together.Accordingly, it is not possible to tamper with the ledger data withoutbreaking the hash links. A hash of a most recently added blockchainblock represents every entry on the chain that has come before it,making it possible to ensure that all peer nodes are in a consistent andtrusted state. The chain may be stored on a peer node file system (i.e.,local, attached storage, cloud, etc.), efficiently supporting theappend-only nature of the blockchain workload.

The current state of the immutable ledger represents the latest valuesfor all keys that are included in the chain entry log. Since the currentstate represents the latest key values known to a channel, it issometimes referred to as a world state. Smart contract executable codeinvocations execute entries against the current state data of theledger. To make these smart contract executable code interactionsefficient, the latest values of the keys may be stored in a statedatabase. The state database may be simply an indexed view into thechain's entry log and can therefore be regenerated from the chain at anytime. The state database may automatically be recovered (or generated ifneeded) upon peer node startup and before entries are accepted.

A blockchain is different from a traditional database in that theblockchain is not a central storage but rather a decentralized,immutable, and secure storage, where nodes must share in changes torecords in the storage. Some properties that are inherent in blockchainand which help implement the blockchain include, but are not limited to,an immutable ledger, smart contracts, security, privacy,decentralization, consensus, endorsement, accessibility, and the like.

Example embodiments provide a service to a particular vehicle and/or auser profile that is applied to the vehicle. For example, a user may bethe owner of a vehicle or the operator of a vehicle owned by anotherparty. The vehicle may require service at certain intervals, and theservice needs may require authorization before permitting the servicesto be received. Also, service centers may offer services to vehicles ina nearby area based on the vehicle's current route plan and a relativelevel of service requirements (e.g., immediate, severe, intermediate,minor, etc.). The vehicle needs may be monitored via one or more vehicleand/or road sensors or cameras, which report sensed data to a centralcontroller computer device in and/or apart from the vehicle. This datais forwarded to a management server for review and action. A sensor maybe located on one or more of the interior of the transport, the exteriorof the transport, on a fixed object apart from the transport, and onanother transport proximate the transport. The sensor may also beassociated with the transport's speed, the transport's braking, thetransport's acceleration, fuel levels, service needs, the gear-shiftingof the transport, the transport's steering, and the like. A sensor, asdescribed herein, may also be a device, such as a wireless device inand/or proximate to the transport. Also, sensor information may be usedto identify whether the vehicle is operating safely and whether anoccupant has engaged in any unexpected vehicle conditions, such asduring a vehicle access and/or utilization period. Vehicle informationcollected before, during and/or after a vehicle's operation may beidentified and stored in a transaction on a shared/distributed ledger,which may be generated and committed to the immutable ledger asdetermined by a permission granting consortium, and thus in a“decentralized” manner, such as via a blockchain membership group.

Each interested party (i.e., owner, user, company, agency, etc.) maywant to limit the exposure of private information, and therefore theblockchain and its immutability can be used to manage permissions foreach particular user vehicle profile. A smart contract may be used toprovide compensation, quantify a user profile score/rating/review, applyvehicle event permissions, determine when service is needed, identify acollision and/or degradation event, identify a safety concern event,identify parties to the event and provide distribution to registeredentities seeking access to such vehicle event data. Also, the resultsmay be identified, and the necessary information can be shared among theregistered companies and/or individuals based on a consensus approachassociated with the blockchain. Such an approach could not beimplemented on a traditional centralized database.

Various driving systems of the instant solution can utilize software, anarray of sensors as well as machine learning functionality, lightdetection and ranging (Lidar) projectors, radar, ultrasonic sensors,etc. to create a map of terrain and road that a transport can use fornavigation and other purposes. In some embodiments, GPS, maps, cameras,sensors and the like can also be used in autonomous vehicles in place ofLidar.

The instant solution includes, in certain embodiments, authorizing avehicle for service via an automated and quick authentication scheme.For example, driving up to a charging station or fuel pump may beperformed by a vehicle operator or an autonomous transport and theauthorization to receive charge or fuel may be performed without anydelays provided the authorization is received by the service and/orcharging station. A vehicle may provide a communication signal thatprovides an identification of a vehicle that has a currently activeprofile linked to an account that is authorized to accept a service,which can be later rectified by compensation. Additional measures may beused to provide further authentication, such as another identifier maybe sent from the user's device wirelessly to the service center toreplace or supplement the first authorization effort between thetransport and the service center with an additional authorizationeffort.

Data shared and received may be stored in a database, which maintainsdata in one single database (e.g., database server) and generally at oneparticular location. This location is often a central computer, forexample, a desktop central processing unit (CPU), a server CPU, or amainframe computer. Information stored on a centralized database istypically accessible from multiple different points. A centralizeddatabase is easy to manage, maintain, and control, especially forpurposes of security because of its single location. Within acentralized database, data redundancy is minimized as a single storingplace of all data also implies that a given set of data only has oneprimary record. A blockchain may be used for storing transport-relateddata and transactions.

Any of the actions described herein may be performed by one or moreprocessors (such as a microprocessor, a sensor, an Electronic ControlUnit (ECU), a head unit, and the like), with or without memory, whichmay be located on-board the transport and/or or off-board the transport(such as a server, computer, mobile/wireless device, etc.). The one ormore processors may communicate with other memory and/or otherprocessors on-board or off-board other transports to utilize data beingsent by and/or to the transport. The one or more processors and theother processors can send data, receive data, and utilize this data toperform one or more of the actions described or depicted herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example diagram of automatic device and vehiclepairing 100, according to example embodiments. A system 100 may includea vehicle, which may transport passengers and/or cargo. In oneembodiment, the vehicle may be at least partially powered by electricenergy (i.e., electric vehicles). Vehicles include one or moreprocessors and associated memory devices, including but not limited to amain or vehicle processor 110, a navigation processor, a communicationprocessor, an ECU, a sensor processor, and the like.

The system may also include a server 120. Servers 120 may include one ormore computers communicably coupled to the vehicle processor 110 and thedevice processor 130. Servers 120 may include one or more processors andmemory devices for storing applications and data. In one embodiment,servers 120 may be associated with a manufacturer of the vehicle,including a repair facility, a sales facility, an entertainmentestablishment, and the like. In one embodiment, servers 120 may belocated in a network or cloud and/or in or connected to a vehiclecharging station.

Individuals associated with the vehicle (e.g. a vehicle owner or afamily member of a vehicle owner) may have a communication device, orother device. Communication devices may include smartphones, tablets,smartwatches, wearable computers, and the like. Devices include a deviceprocessor 130 and a memory device accessible to the device processor 130for storing applications and data. Devices may communicate with avehicle processor 110 over a wired connection such as a universal serialbus (USB) cable, or wirelessly over a wireless connection such as WI-FIor BLUETOOTH. A BLUETOOTH-paired occupant device and a vehicle may sharephone and multimedia applications as well as remote key functionalityfor remotely starting and locking/unlocking the vehicle.

In order for a pair of devices or components to communicate over aBLUETOOTH connection, a pairing operation must be completed. Pairing isthe process of creating repeatable bonds between two connectedcommunication devices. Repeatable means that once two devices have beenpaired, they will continue to recognize each other and be able tocommunicate whenever they are in range, or proximate to each other. Whencommunication devices are initially paired, they may share variousinformation and store the information in an accessible memory device.Pairing usually requires an authentication process where the uservalidates the connection and in some cases, a digital key or other tokenis approved. In traditional pairing processes, this may require a secondpairing operation, which is undesirable. The present applicationrequires only a single pairing process (pre-pairing), even when adigital key must be authenticated.

In one embodiment, the vehicle processor 110 may obtain data from two ormore vehicle components 112 (e.g., a head unit (HU) and an ECU ordigital key ECU). Each of the vehicle components may have an associatedprocessor and the vehicle processor 110 may request vehicle componentdata from each component. The vehicle processor 110 obtains the data andtransmits the data as vehicle identification data 114 to the server 120.The vehicle identification data 114 may include a VIN number, amanufacturer name or ID, a manufacturing time/date, a place ofmanufacture, vehicle options, and the like.

In one embodiment, the device processor 130 may obtain device data 116and transmit the device data 118 to the server 120. The device data mayinclude ownership data, which may include an owner's name, a date ofpurchase, a place of purchase, characteristics of the device, such asthe media access control (MAC), international mobile equipment identify(IMEI), electronic serial number (ESN), and the like. In one embodiment,the device may have an application installed that is associated with amanufacturer of the vehicle. For example, when a new vehicle ispurchased, the sales facility may send the occupant device an email orother communication (SMS message, etc) that includes a link fordownloading the application on the device. The installed application mayobtain the ownership information from a memory of the occupant device,or may prompt a user associated with the occupant device to type in theownership information (e.g., owner full name, address, purchase date,purchase price, vehicle make, vehicle model, vehicle color, VIN number,etc.). In one embodiment, the device may store the ownership informationin the device memory after the user has entered the information. Theserver 120 may store the vehicle identification data 114 and the devicedata 118 in an accessible memory device.

In one embodiment, the server 120 may authenticate the ownershipinformation with the vehicle identification data 114 and the device data118. In one embodiment, authentication may involve a digital key storedin an accessible server 120 memory device or obtained from the vehicleprocessor 110 as part of the vehicle identification data 114. Theauthentication process may link ownership with the specific vehicle.

In one embodiment, the server 120 may transmit the vehicleidentification data 124 to the device processor 130, and the deviceprocessor 130 may store the vehicle identification data 124 in anaccessible memory device. The server 120 may also transmit the devicedata 126 to the vehicle processor 110 to store in an accessible memorydevice. The vehicle processor 110 may then transmit the received devicedata 126 to the two or more vehicle components 128 that provided theoriginal vehicle identification data 114. Those vehicle components mayalso store the device data 126 in accessible memory devices.

In one embodiment, the server 120 pre-pairs the vehicle and the device132. In one embodiment, pre-pairing may occur when the vehicle has beenstarted or otherwise in an “on” condition. In another embodiment,pre-pairing may occur when the vehicle components are in an “on” state,even if the vehicle may not be started. The “on” state means thatelectrical power is provided to the vehicle/components and processorsassociated with the vehicle (i.e.; vehicle processor 110) or componentprocessor are powered and active. Pre-pairing 132 signifies theauthentication process is completed and pairing will occur when theendpoints (i.e. the vehicle and the device) are within radio frequency(RF) communication distance of each other. The user of the deviceapproaches the vehicle and the device is now proximate with the vehicle134 when the vehicle and the device are within radio frequency (RF)communication distance of each other. A wireless connection (e.g., aBLUETOOTH connection) 136 is now active between the vehicle and thedevice and auto-pairing between the vehicle and the device occurs 138.At this point, the vehicle manufacturer application installed on thedevice is able to send and receive information and data between thedevice processor 130 and the vehicle processor 110. This communicationmay continue as long as the vehicle and the device remain withinwireless communication distance of each other. Although communicationover this link may be temporarily lost when the device moves out ofcommunication range with the vehicle, it will be automatically restoredwhen the device moves in-range again.

In one embodiment, the pre-paired vehicle and the pre-paired device maybe paired when they are proximate one another. As previously described,the vehicle and the device may be proximate when they are in RFcommunication range of each other. The wireless connection standardsdefine transmit power levels and approximate communication ranges. Forexample, class 1 transceivers may transmit t power levels up to 100milliwatts (mw) with a range of up to 100 meters. Class 2 transceiversmay transmit at power levels up to 2.5 mw with a range of up to 10meters. Class 3 transceivers may transmit at power levels up to 1 mwwith a range of 1 meter. In order to communicate over the 100 meterrange, a class 1 device may be required at both ends. In order tocommunicate over the 10 meter range, a class 1 or class 2 device may berequired at both ends. In one embodiment, proximate may mean a reducedrange given the class of the vehicle and the device. For example, theserver 120 may receive GPS coordinates from each of the vehicleprocessor 110 and the device processor 130 and establish a currentdistance between the vehicle and the device from the GPS coordinates.Even though the vehicle and the device may be class 1 devices andphysically able to pair within a 100 meter separation distance, theserver 120 may restrict pairing to a shorter distance, for example 10meters. This may be used to limit RF eavesdropping and/or potentialinterference over greater distances and time. In one embodiment, thevehicle processor 110 and the device processor 130 may execute softwareapplications that require two conditions to be met for pairing. First,the RF receivers must detect the other device, within RF communicationrange. Second, the vehicle processor 110 and the device processor 130must receive a “pairing enabled” notification from the server 120. Theserver 120 may transmit a “pairing enabled” notification when thevehicle is within a predetermined range of the device (e.g., 10 meters)and may transmit a “pairing disabled” notification when the vehicle isoutside the predetermined range of the device.

In one embodiment, communication may be enabled between the at least twocomponents in the paired vehicle and the paired device. The vehicleprocessor 110 and the device processor 130 are enabled to communicatefollowing successful pairing. In one embodiment, the vehicle processor110 may act as a proxy between the at least two components and thedevice processor 130. In other words, the components may provide anotification or a response to a notification from the device processor130 to the vehicle processor 110. The vehicle processor 110 may transmitthe notification or response to the device processor 130 as long as thevehicle and device are in proximity to each other. In one embodiment, ifa component provides a notification or response to the vehicle processor110 and the vehicle and device are no longer in proximity, the vehicleprocessor 110 may temporarily store the notification or response in anaccessible memory device. When the vehicle and the device becomeproximate again, the vehicle processor 110 may then transmit thenotification or response to the device processor 130 in astore-and-forward manner.

In one embodiment, the vehicle processor 110 may detect if the device iswithin the vehicle within a period of time after pairing has beeninitiated and communication between the vehicle and device has beenenabled. For example, the vehicle processor 110 may receive anotification from the server 120 that the device is within a distance ofthe vehicle (e.g., 10 meters). The vehicle processor 110 may start atimer to determine if the device is within the vehicle within 10seconds. If the vehicle processor 110 doesn't determine whether thedevice is within the vehicle within 10 seconds, the vehicle processor HOmay inhibit communication between the vehicle and the device to allowthe device to communicate elsewhere (e.g., as a regular phone or SMStext messaging device). The vehicle processor 110 may determine thedevice is within the vehicle by requesting and obtaining GPS coordinatesfrom the device and comparing to vehicle GPS coordinates or requestingand obtaining a camera image from the device that corresponds to acamera image of the vehicle interior stored in a memory deviceaccessible to the vehicle processor 110. In another embodiment, thevehicle processor 110 may not determine if a user associated with thedevice is within the vehicle after a period of time if one or more doorsor windows of the vehicle or a rear hatch, trunk, or hood of the vehicleare open after the period of time.

In one embodiment, the server 120 may authenticate ownership informationfor the vehicle with a digital key and the vehicle identification data114, where the device data 118 may include the ownership information forthe vehicle. The server 120 may receive device data 118 from the deviceprocessor 130. In one embodiment, the server 120 may request the userassociated with the device to enter ownership information in a GUIdisplayed on the device. In another embodiment, the device may have anapplication downloaded and installed related to the vehicle or amanufacturer of the vehicle. The application may present a GUI on thedevice that requests ownership information from the user. The ownershipinformation may include (for example) a full legal name of the vehicleowner, a home address, a date of birth, a date/time of purchase, apurchase price, a vehicle description, a vehicle identifier (e.g., VINnumber or license plate number), a vehicle model year, model number,options package, or any other identifying information of the ownerand/or the vehicle. The device processor 130 may transmit some or all ofthis information as device data 118 to the server 120.

When the server 120 receives the device data 118, the server 120 mayretrieve a digital key and vehicle identification data 114. In oneembodiment, the digital key and/or the vehicle identification data 114may be retrieved from the vehicle. For example, the server 120 maytransmit a request to the vehicle processor 110 to provide the digitalkey and the vehicle identification information 114. The vehicleidentification information 114 may be stored in a memory deviceaccessible to the vehicle processor 110 and the digital key may bestored in a memory device accessible to a vehicle component thatincludes a digital key processor. The vehicle processor 110 may providethe digital key and the vehicle information data 114 to the server 120.In another embodiment, the server 120 may retrieve the vehicleinformation data 114 from the vehicle processor 110 and the digital keyfrom a digital key processor accessible to the server 120. In oneembodiment, the server 120 may receive the vehicle information data 114from the vehicle processor 110 and provide the vehicle information data114 to the digital key processor. The digital key processor may generatea digital key that corresponds to the vehicle information data 114. Theserver 120 may then authenticate the ownership information from thedevice data 118 with the digital key. Once authenticated, the server 120may transmit the vehicle identification data 124 to the device processor130 and the device data 126 to the vehicle processor 110. This allowsthe vehicle components 128 and the device processor 130 to pre-pair inpreparation for actual pairing when the device and the vehicle areproximate, as previously discussed.

In one embodiment, the server 120 may verify compatibility between thevehicle identification data 114 and the device data 118, assign anidentifier to a combination of the vehicle and the device, send theidentifier to the vehicle and the device, and authenticatecommunications between the server 120 and the device while paired, withthe identifier. In one embodiment, compatibility between the vehicleidentification data 114 and the device data 118 may be determined bycomparing common information in each. For example, the vehicleidentification data 114 and the device data 118 may each include a timeor date of purchase, a vehicle description (model, year, color,sub-model, etc.), or a manufacturer-assigned identifier that may betransmitted by the server 120 to each of the vehicle processor 110 andthe device processor 130. The server 120 may compare the commoninformation. If the common information in the vehicle identificationdata 114 matches the common information in the device data 118, theserver 120 may determine the vehicle identification data 114 iscompatible with the device data 118. If the common information in thevehicle identification data 114 does not match the common information inthe device data 118, the server 120 may determine the vehicleidentification data 114 is not compatible with the device data 118.

If the server 120 determines the vehicle identification data 114 iscompatible with the device data 118, the server 120 may assign a uniqueidentifier to the combination of the vehicle and the device. In oneembodiment, the unique identifier may include identifying informationfor the vehicle and the device or user of the device. For example, theunique identifier may include the VIN number or license plate number ofthe vehicle and a birth date of the owner. In another embodiment, theunique identifier may be generated by a digital combination ofidentifying information for the vehicle and the device or user of thedevice. In another embodiment, the unique identifier may be asequentially or randomly-generated alphanumeric or other string by theserver 120.

After generating the identifier, the server 120 may transmit theidentifier to the vehicle processor 110 and the device processor 130,which respectively store the unique identifier in an accessible memorydevice. All direct communications between the vehicle processor 110 andthe device processor 130 may require the inclusion of the uniqueidentifier in order to authenticate each communication. For example,once paired, the device may send a notification to the vehicle to startthe vehicle, where the notification may also include the uniqueidentifier. The vehicle processor 110 may receive the notification, andprior to sending a request to an ECU or other processor, checks theunique identifier. The unique identifier in the notification may becompared to the stored unique identifier. If they match, the vehicle isstarted. If they do not match, the vehicle is not started and thevehicle processor 110 may transmit a notification to the server 120 thatthe unique identifiers did not match. In one embodiment, the server 120may un-pair the vehicle with the device by transmitting falsifiedvehicle identification data 124 to the device and falsified device data126 to the vehicle.

In one embodiment, the server 120 may receive a request from anotherdevice to pair with the vehicle and send a notification to the device toapprove the request. In response to receiving the notification, thedevice may approve the request to the server 120 and the server 120pre-pairs the other device with the vehicle. For example, a spouse ofthe vehicle owner may receive an email from the server 120 on theirdevice providing an invitation to pair with the vehicle. The email mayinclude a link presented on a GUI of the spouse's device, which thespouse of the owner selects. This may cause the device processor 130 ofthe spouse's device to transmit a notification to the owner's device toapprove pairing the spouse's device with the vehicle. The notificationmay also include device data 118 from the spouse's device that mayprovide information used to authenticate the vehicle with the spouse'sdevice. For example, the device data 118 may include the spouse's fulllegal name, address, birth date, etc., as previously discussed. Thedevice processor 130 of the owner's device may receive the notificationand display a query to accept or reject the request on a GUI of theowner's device. The owner may approve the request by selecting a GUIcontrol or text box. The device processor 130 of the owner's device maytransmit an indication of the approved request to the server 120. Theserver 120 may receive the approved request and pre-pair the vehicle andthe spouse's device, using the vehicle information data 124 sent to thespouse's device and the device data 126 sent to the vehicle processor110. The spouse's device will then be automatically paired with thevehicle when the spouse's device is proximate the vehicle. By includingthe original owner and owner's device in the approval, improved securityis achieved rather than just involving the spouse's device and theserver 120.

In one embodiment, if the owner indicates approval of the request fromthe other device, the owner may be required to provide biometric dataalong with the request to the server 120. For example, the owner may berequested to provide a fingerprint or retinal scan though the device inaddition to the request. In one embodiment, the server 120 may alreadystore the biometric information for the owner in an accessible memorydevice (i.e., the owner may have provided the biometric information whenthe owner was originally involved with pre-pairing the owner's devicewith the vehicle and provided the first device data 118). The server 120compares the received biometric data from the approved request with thestored biometric data from the owner. If the received biometric datafrom the approved request matches the stored biometric data from theowner, the server 120 may pre-pair the spouse's device with the vehicle.If the received biometric data from the approved request does not matchthe stored biometric data from the owner, the server 120 may notpre-pair the spouse's device with the vehicle. In this case, the server120 may assume that either bad biometric data has been provided andrequest a new biometric data sample from the owner, or may assumefraudulent activity is occurring and take appropriate action, such assending a notification to an entity, such as the device associated withthe owner, a server associated with the manufacturer, or the like.

In another embodiment, when the server 120 receives the approved pairingrequest from the owner's device, the server 120 may first verify theowner's device is already pre-paired with the vehicle. If the owner'sdevice is not already pre-paired with the vehicle, the server 120 maydefer pre-pairing the spouse's device with the vehicle until the owner'sdevice has been pre-paired with the vehicle. In one embodiment, theserver 120 may transmit a message or email to the device processor 130of the owner's device requesting initiation of pre-pairing between theowner's device and the vehicle. The pre-pairing may follow the stepspreviously discussed. Once pre-pairing is completed between the owner'sdevice and the vehicle, the server 120 may automatically pre-pair thespouse's device to the vehicle.

In one embodiment, in response to pre-pairing the vehicle and thedevice, the server 120 may receive vehicle identification data from atleast two components in one or more other vehicles, verify commonownership of the vehicle and the one or more other vehicles, andpre-pair the one or more other vehicles and the device, based on theverified common ownership.

After initially pairing a device with the vehicle, it may be helpful tohave a streamlined process for pairing additional vehicles with thedevice, For example, a family or business may own multiple vehicles.Once a first vehicle has been pre-paired with the device, the server 120may transmit a notification to the device to request the identificationof additional vehicles. The device processor 130 may display on a GUI ofthe device a request to supply identifying data for other vehicles thatwill allow the server 120 to individually contact each of the additionalvehicles. The user associated with the device may enter the identifyingdata for each of the additional vehicles and request the information besent to the server 120. The server 120 may receive the identifying dataand transmit individual invitations to each of the additional vehicles.Vehicle processors 110 of each of the additional vehicles may receivethe invitation and in response provide vehicle identification data 114from at least two components. The server 120 receives the vehicleidentification data 114 from the additional vehicles and verifies commonownership of the original vehicle and the additional vehicles.

In one embodiment, the device data 118 provided from the device may haveincluded VIN numbers for the vehicle and the additional vehicles, whichthe server 120 may save to an accessible memory device. The vehicleidentification data 114 from the additional vehicles may be compared tothe stored VIN numbers in order to verify common ownership. In anotherembodiment, the owner of the vehicle and the additional vehicles mayhave entered his/her name, address, phone number, and/or email addressinto a GUI of a head unit (HU) on each vehicle, and the vehicleprocessor may store the information in a user profile of an accessiblememory device. The additional vehicles may provide the user profile aspart of the vehicle identification data 114 back to the server 120. Theserver 120 receives the vehicle identification data 114 from theadditional vehicles and verifies common ownership of the originalvehicle and the additional vehicles with user profile information aspart of the device data 118.

The server 120 may pre-pair the additional vehicles with the device, aspreviously described. The server 120 transmits the vehicleidentification data 124 to the device and transmits the device data 126to vehicle processors 110 for each of the additional vehicles. When thedevice is within proximity to each of the additional vehicles, actualpairing occurs.

Flow diagrams depicted herein, such as FIG. 1 , FIG. 2C, FIG. 2D, FIG.2E, FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B and FIG. 3C, are separate examples but may be thesame or different embodiments. Any of the operations in one flow diagramcould be adopted and shared with another flow diagram. No exampleoperation is intended to limit the subject matter of any embodiment orcorresponding claim.

It is important to note that all the flow diagrams and correspondingprocesses derived from FIG. 1 , FIG. 2C, FIG. 2D, FIG. 2E, FIG. 3A, FIG.3B and FIG. 3C may be part of a same process or may share sub-processeswith one another thus making the diagrams combinable into a singlepreferred embodiment that does not require any one specific operationbut which performs certain operations from one example process and fromone or more additional processes. All the example processes are relatedto the same physical system and can be used separately orinterchangeably.

FIG. 2A illustrates a transport network diagram 200, according toexample embodiments. The network comprises elements including atransport 202 including a processor 204, as well as a transport 202′including a processor 204′. The transports 202, 202′ communicate withone another via the processors 204, 204′, as well as other elements (notshown) including transceivers, transmitters, receivers, storage,sensors, and other elements capable of providing communication. Thecommunication between the transports 202, and 202′ can occur directly,via a private and/or a public network (not shown), or via othertransports and elements comprising one or more of a processor, memory,and software. Although depicted as single transports and processors, aplurality of transports and processors may be present. One or more ofthe applications, features, steps, solutions, etc., described and/ordepicted herein may be utilized and/or provided by the instant elements.

FIG. 2B illustrates another transport network diagram 210, according toexample embodiments. The network comprises elements including atransport 202 including a processor 204, as well as a transport 202′including a processor 204′. The transports 202, 202′ communicate withone another via the processors 204, 204′, as well as other elements (notshown), including transceivers, transmitters, receivers, storage,sensors, and other elements capable of providing communication. Thecommunication between the transports 202, and 202′ can occur directly,via a private and/or a public network (not shown), or via othertransports and elements comprising one or more of a processor, memory,and software. The processors 204, 204′ can further communicate with oneor more elements 230 including sensor 212, wired device 214, wirelessdevice 216, database 218, mobile phone 220, transport 222, computer 224,I/O device 226, and voice application 228. The processors 204, 204′ canfurther communicate with elements comprising one or more of a processor,memory, and software.

Although depicted as single transports, processors and elements, aplurality of transports, processors and elements may be present.Information or communication can occur to and/or from any of theprocessors 204, 204′ and elements 230. For example, the mobile phone 220may provide information to the processor 204, which may initiate thetransport 202 to take an action, may further provide the information oradditional information to the processor 204′, which may initiate thetransport 202′ to take an action, may further provide the information oradditional information to the mobile phone 220, the transport 222,and/or the computer 224. One or more of the applications, features,steps, solutions, etc., described and/or depicted herein may be utilizedand/or provided by the instant elements.

FIG. 2C illustrates yet another transport network diagram 240, accordingto example embodiments. The network comprises elements including atransport 202, a processor 204, and a non-transitory computer readablemedium 242C. The processor 204 is communicably coupled to the computerreadable medium 242C and elements 230 (which were depicted in FIG. 2B).The transport 202 could be a transport, server, or any device with aprocessor and memory.

The processor 204 performs one or more of receiving, by a server,vehicle identification data from at least two components in a vehicleand device data from a device associated with the vehicle 244C, sending,by the server, the vehicle identification data to the device and thedevice data to the at least two components in the vehicle 246C, andpre-pairing the vehicle and the device, based on the sending 248C.

FIG. 2D illustrates a further transport network diagram 250, accordingto example embodiments. The network comprises elements including atransport 202 a processor 204, and a non-transitory computer readablemedium 242D. The processor 204 is communicably coupled to the computerreadable medium 242D and elements 230 (which were depicted in FIG. 2B).The transport 202 could be a transport, server or any device with aprocessor and memory.

The processor 204 performs one or more of pairing the pre-paired vehicleand the pre-paired device when they are proximate one another 244D,communicating between the at least two components in the paired vehicleand the paired device 245D, authenticating, by the server, ownershipinformation for the vehicle with a digital key and the vehicleidentification data, where the device data includes the ownershipinformation for the vehicle 246D, verifying compatibility between thevehicle identification data and the device data, assigning an identifierto a combination of the vehicle and the device, sending, by the server,the identifier to the vehicle and the device, and authenticatingcommunications between the server and the device while paired, with theidentifier 247D, receiving a request from another device to pair withthe vehicle, sending a notification to the device to approve therequest, approving, by the device, the request, and pre-pairing theother device with the vehicle, by the server 248D, and in response topre-pairing the vehicle and the device, receiving, by the server,vehicle identification data from at least two components in one or moreother vehicles, verifying common ownership of the vehicle and the one ormore other vehicles, and pre-pairing the one or more other vehicles andthe device, based on the verified common ownership 249D.

FIG. 2E illustrates yet a further transport network diagram 260,according to example embodiments. Referring to FIG. 2E, the networkdiagram 260 includes a transport 202 connected to other transports 202′and to an update server node 203 over a blockchain network 206. Thetransports 202 and 202′ may represent transports/vehicles. Theblockchain network 206 may have a ledger 208 for storing software updatevalidation data and a source 207 of the validation for future use (e.g.,for an audit).

While this example describes in detail only one transport 202, multiplesuch nodes may be connected to the blockchain 206. It should beunderstood that the transport 202 may include additional components andthat some of the components described herein may be removed and/ormodified without departing from a scope of the instant application. Thetransport 202 may have a computing device or a server computer, or thelike, and may include a processor 204, which may be asemiconductor-based microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmablegate array (FPGA), and/or another hardware device. Although a singleprocessor 204 is depicted, it should be understood that the transport202 may include multiple processors, multiple cores, or the like withoutdeparting from the scope of the instant application. The transport 202could be a transport, server or any device with a processor and memory.

The processor 204 performs one or more of receiving a confirmation of anevent from one or more elements described or depicted herein, whereinthe confirmation comprises a blockchain consensus between peersrepresented by any of the elements 244E and executing a smart contractto record the confirmation on a blockchain-based on the blockchainconsensus 246E. Consensus is formed between one or more of any element230 and/or any element described or depicted herein, including atransport, a server, a wireless device, etc. In another example, thetransport 202 can be one or more of any element 230 and/or any elementdescribed or depicted herein, including a server, a wireless device,etc.

The processors and/or computer readable medium 242E may fully orpartially reside in the interior or exterior of the transports. Thesteps or features stored in the computer readable medium 242E may befully or partially performed by any of the processors and/or elements inany order. Additionally, one or more steps or features may be added,omitted, combined, performed at a later time, etc.

FIG. 2F illustrates a diagram 265 depicting the electrification of oneor more elements. In one example, a transport 266 may provide powerstored in its batteries to one or more elements, including othertransport(s) 268, charging station(s) 270, and electric grid(s) 272. Theelectric grid(s) 272 is/are coupled to one or more of the chargingstations 270, which may be coupled to one or more of the transports 268.This configuration allows the distribution of electricity/power receivedfrom the transport 266. The transport 266 may also interact with theother transport(s) 268, such as via Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) technology,communication over cellular, WiFi, and the like. The transport 266 mayalso interact wirelessly and/or wired with other transports 268, thecharging station(s) 270 and/or with the electric grid(s) 272. In oneexample, the transport 266 is routed (or routes itself) in a safe andefficient manner to the electric grid(s) 272, the charging station(s)270, or the other transport(s) 268. Using one or more embodiments of theinstant solution, the transport 266 can provide energy to one or more ofthe elements depicted herein in various advantageous ways as describedand/or depicted herein. Further, the safety and efficiency of thetransport may be increased, and the environment may be positivelyaffected as described and/or depicted herein.

The term ‘energy’ may be used to denote any form of energy received,stored, used, shared, and/or lost by the transport(s). The energy may bereferred to in conjunction with a voltage source and/or a current supplyof charge provided from an entity to the transport(s) during acharge/use operation. Energy may also be in the form of fossil fuels(for example, for use with a hybrid transport) or via alternative powersources, including but not limited to lithium-based, nickel-based,hydrogen fuel cells, atomic/nuclear energy, fusion-based energy sources,and energy generated on-the-fly during an energy sharing and/or usageoperation for increasing or decreasing one or more transports energylevels at a given time.

In one example, the charging station 270 manages the amount of energytransferred from the transport 266 such that there is sufficient chargeremaining in the transport 266 to arrive at a destination. In oneexample, a wireless connection is used to wirelessly direct an amount ofenergy transfer between transports 268, wherein the transports may bothbe in motion. In one embodiment, wireless charging may occur via a fixedcharger and batteries of the transport in alignment with one another(such as a charging mat in a garage or parking space). In one example,an idle vehicle, such as a vehicle 266 (which may be autonomous) isdirected to provide an amount of energy to a charging station 270 andreturn to the original location (for example, its original location or adifferent destination). In one example, a mobile energy storage unit(not shown) is used to collect surplus energy from at least one othertransport 268 and transfer the stored surplus energy at a chargingstation 270. In one example, factors determine an amount of energy totransfer to a charging station 270, such as distance, time, as well astraffic conditions, road conditions, environmental/weather conditions,the vehicle's condition (weight, etc.), an occupant(s) schedule whileutilizing the vehicle, a prospective occupant(s) schedule waiting forthe vehicle, etc. In one example, the transport(s) 268, the chargingstation(s) 270 and/or the electric grid(s) 272 can provide energy to thetransport 266.

In one embodiment, a location such as a building, a residence, or thelike (not depicted), communicably coupled to one or more of the electricgrid 272, the transport 266, and/or the charging station(s) 270. Therate of electric flow to one or more of the location, the transport 266,the other transport(s) 268 is modified, depending on externalconditions, such as weather. For example, when the external temperatureis extremely hot or extremely cold, raising the chance for an outage ofelectricity, the flow of electricity to a connected vehicle 266/268 isslowed to help minimize the chance for an outage.

In one example, the solutions described and depicted herein can beutilized to determine load effects on the transport and/or the system,to provide energy to the transport and/or the system based on futureneeds and/or priorities, and provide intelligence between an apparatuscontaining a module and a vehicle allowing the processor of theapparatus to wirelessly communicate with a vehicle regarding an amountof energy store in a battery on the vehicle. In one example, thesolutions can also be utilized to provide charge to a location from atransport based on factors such as the temperature at the location, thecost of the energy, and the power level at the location. In one example,the solutions can also be utilized to manage an amount of energyremaining in a transport after a portion of the charge has beentransferred to a charging station. In one example, the solutions canalso be utilized to notify a vehicle to provide an amount of energy frombatteries on the transport, wherein the amount of energy to transfer isbased on the distance of the transport to a module to receive theenergy.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to use a mobileenergy storage unit that uses a determined path to travel to transportswith excess energy and deposit the stored energy into the electric grid.In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to determine apriority of the transport's determination of the need to provide energyto grid and the priority of a current need of the transport, such as thepriority of a passenger or upcoming passenger, or current cargo, orupcoming cargo. In one example, the solutions can also be utilized todetermine that when a vehicle is idle, the vehicle decides to maneuverto a location to discharge excess energy to the energy grid, then returnto the previous location. In one example, the solutions can also beutilized to determine an amount of energy needed by a transport toprovide another transport with needed energy via transport to transportenergy transfer based on one or more conditions such as weather,traffic, road conditions, car conditions, and occupants and/or goods inanother transport, and instruct the transport to route to anothertransport and provide the energy. In one example, the solutions can alsobe utilized to transfer energy from one vehicle in motion to anothervehicle in motion. In one example, the solutions can also be utilized toretrieve energy by a transport based on an expended energy by thetransport to reach a meeting location with another transport, provide aservice, and an estimated expended energy to return to an originallocation. In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to providea remaining distance needed to a charging station and the chargingstation to determine an amount of energy to be retrieved from thetransport wherein the amount of charge remaining is based on theremaining distance. In one example, the solutions can also be utilizedto manage a transport that is concurrently charged by more than onepoint simultaneously, such as both a charging station via a wiredconnection and another transport via a wireless connection. In oneexample, the solutions can also be utilized to apply a priority to thedispensing of energy to transports wherein a priority is given to thosetransports that will provide a portion of their stored charge to anotherentity such as an electric grid, a residence, and the like.

In one embodiment, transports 266 and 268 may be utilized asbidirectional transports. Bidirectional transports are those that mayserve as mobile microgrids that can assist in the supplying ofelectrical power to the grid 272 and/or reduce the power consumptionwhen the grid is stressed. Bidirectional transports incorporatebidirectional charging, which in addition to receiving a charge to thetransport, the transport can take energy from the transport and “push”the energy back into the grid 272, otherwise referred to as “V2G”. Inbidirectional charging, the electricity flows both ways; to thetransport and from the transport. When a transport is charged,alternating current (AC) electricity from the grid 272 is converted todirect current (DC). This may be performed by one or more of thetransport's own converter or a converter on the charger 270. The energystored in the transport's batteries may be sent in an opposite directionback to the grid. The energy is converted from DC to AC through aconverter usually located in the charger 270, otherwise referred to as abidirectional charger. Further, the instant solution as described anddepicted with respect to FIG. 2F can be utilized in this and othernetworks and/or systems.

FIG. 2G is a diagram showing interconnections between different elements275. The instant solution may be stored and/or executed entirely orpartially on and/or by one or more computing devices 278′, 279′, 281′,282′, 283′, 284′, 276′, 285′, 287′ and 277′ associated with variousentities, all communicably coupled and in communication with a network286. A database 287 is communicably coupled to the network and allowsfor the storage and retrieval of data. In one example, the database isan immutable ledger. One or more of the various entities may be atransport 276, one or more service provider 279, one or more publicbuildings 281, one or more traffic infrastructure 282, one or moreresidential dwellings 283, an electric grid/charging station 284, amicrophone 285, and/or another transport 277. Other entities and/ordevices, such as one or more private users using a smartphone 278, alaptop 280, an augmented reality (AR) device, a virtual reality (VR)device, and/or any wearable device may also interwork with the instantsolution. The smartphone 278, laptop 280, the microphone 285, and otherdevices may be connected to one or more of the connected computingdevices 278′, 279′, 281′, 282′, 283′, 284′, 276′, 285′, 287′, and 277′.The one or more public buildings 281 may include various agencies. Theone or more public buildings 281 may utilize a computing device 281′.The one or more service provider 279 may include a dealership, a towtruck service, a collision center or other repair shop. The one or moreservice provider 279 may utilize a computing apparatus 279′. Thesevarious computer devices may be directly and/or communicably coupled toone another, such as via wired networks, wireless networks, blockchainnetworks, and the like. The microphone 285 may be utilized as a virtualassistant, in one example. In one example, the one or more trafficinfrastructure 282 may include one or more traffic signals, one or moresensors including one or more cameras, vehicle speed sensors or trafficsensors, and/or other traffic infrastructure. The one or more trafficinfrastructure 282 may utilize a computing device 282′.

In one example, a transport 277/276 can transport a person, an object, apermanently or temporarily affixed apparatus, and the like. In oneexample, the transport 277 may communicate with transport 276 via V2Vcommunication through the computers associated with each transport 276′and 277′ and may be referred to as a transport, car, vehicle,automobile, and the like. The transport 276/277 may be a self-propelledwheeled conveyance, such as a car, a sports utility vehicle, a truck, abus, a van, or other motor or battery-driven or fuel cell-driventransport. For example, transport 276/277 may be an electric vehicle, ahybrid vehicle, a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, a plug-in hybrid vehicle,or any other type of vehicle with a fuel cell stack, a motor, and/or agenerator. Other examples of vehicles include bicycles, scooters,trains, planes, boats, and any other form of conveyance that is capableof transportation. The transport 276/277 may be semi-autonomous orautonomous. For example, transport 276/277 may be self-maneuvering andnavigate without human input. An autonomous vehicle may have and use oneor more sensors and/or a navigation unit to drive autonomously.

In one example, the solutions described and depicted herein can beutilized to determine an access to a transport via consensus ofblockchain. In one example, the solutions can also be utilized toperform profile validation before allowing an occupant to use atransport. In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to havethe transport indicate (visually, but also verbally in another example,etc.) on or from the transport for an action the user needs to perform(that could be pre-recorded) and verify that it is the correct action.In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to provide an abilityto for a transport to determine, based on the risk level associated withdata and driving environment, how to bifurcate the data and distribute aportion of the bifurcated data with a lower risk level during a safedriving environment, to the occupant, and later distributing a remainingportion of the bifurcated data, with a higher risk level, to theoccupant after the occupant has departed the transport. In one example,the solutions can also be utilized to handle the transfer of a vehicleacross boundaries (such as a country/state/etc.) through the use ofblockchain and/or smart contracts and apply the rules of the new area tothe vehicle.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to allow a transportto continue to operate outside a boundary when a consensus is reached bythe transport based on the operation of the transport andcharacteristics of an occupant of the transport. In one example, thesolutions can also be utilized to analyze the available dataupload/download speed of a transport, size of the file, andspeed/direction the transport is traveling to determine the distanceneeded to complete a data upload/download and assign a secure areaboundary for the data upload/download to be executed. In one example,the solutions can also be utilized to perform a normally dangerousmaneuver in a safe manner, such as when the system determines that anexit is upcoming and when the transport is seemingly not prepared toexit (e.g., in the incorrect lane or traveling at a speed that is notconducive to making the upcoming exit) and instruct the subjecttransport as well as other proximate transports to allow the subjecttransport to exit in a safe manner. In one example, the solutions canalso be utilized to use one or more vehicles to validate diagnostics ofanother transport while both the one or more vehicles and the othertransport are in motion.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to detect lane usageat a location and time of day to either inform an occupant of atransport or direct the transport to recommend or not recommend a lanechange. In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to eliminatethe need to send information through the mail and the need for adriver/occupant to respond by making a payment through the mail or inperson. In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to provide aservice to an occupant of a transport, wherein the service provided isbased on a subscription and wherein the permission is acquired fromother transports connected to the profile of the occupant. In oneexample, the solutions can also be utilized to record changes in thecondition of a rented object. In one example, the solutions can also beutilized to seek a blockchain consensus from other transports that arein proximity to a damaged transport. In one example, the solutions canalso be utilized to receive media, from a server such as an insuranceentity server, from the transport computer, which may be related to anaccident. The server accesses one or more media files to access thedamage to the transport and stores the damage assessment onto ablockchain. In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to obtaina consensus to determine the severity of an event from several devicesover various times before the event related to a transport.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to solve a problemwithout video evidence for transport-related accidents. The currentsolution details the querying of media, by the transport involved in theaccident, related to the accident from other transports that may havebeen proximate to the accident. In one example, the solutions can alsobe utilized to utilize transports and other devices (for example, apedestrian's cell phone, a streetlight camera, etc.) to record specificportions of a damaged transport.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to warn an occupantwhen a transport is navigating toward a dangerous area and/or event,allowing for a transport to notify occupants or a central controller ofa potentially dangerous area on or near the current transport route. Inone example, the solutions can also be utilized to detect when atransport traveling at a high rate of speed, at least one othertransport is used to assist in slowing down the transport in a mannerthat minimally affects traffic. In one example, the solutions can alsobe utilized to identify a dangerous driving situation where media iscaptured by the vehicle involved in the dangerous driving situation. Ageofence is established based on the distance of the dangerous drivingsituation, and additional media is captured by at least one othervehicle within the established geofence. In one example, the solutionscan also be utilized to send a notification to one or more occupants ofa transport that that transport is approaching a traffic control markingon a road, then if a transport crosses a marking, receiving indicationsof poor driving from other, nearby transports. In one example, thesolutions can also be utilized to make a transport partially inoperableby (in certain embodiments), limiting speed, limiting the ability to benear another vehicle, limiting speed to a maximum, and allowing only agiven number of miles allowed per time period.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to overcome a needfor reliance on software updates to correct issues with a transport whenthe transport is not being operated correctly. Through observing othertransports on a route, a server will receive data from potentiallymultiple other transports observing an unsafe or incorrect operation ofa transport. Through analysis, these observations may result in anotification to the transport when the data suggest an unsafe orincorrect operation. In one example, the solutions can also be utilizedto notify between a transport and a potentially dangerous situationinvolving a person external to the transport. In one example, thesolutions can also be utilized to send data to a server by deviceseither associated with an accident with a transport, or devicesproximate to the accident. Based on the severity of the accident or nearaccident, the server notifies the senders of the data. In one example,the solutions can also be utilized to provide recommendations foroperating a transport to either a driver or occupant of a transportbased on the data analysis. In one example, the solutions can also beutilized to establish a geofence associated with a physical structureand determine payment responsibility to the transport. In one example,the solutions can also be utilized to coordinate the ability to drop offa vehicle at a location using both the current state at the location anda proposed future state using navigation destinations of other vehicles.In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to coordinate theability to automatically arrange for the drop off of a vehicle at alocation such as a transport rental entity.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to move transport toanother location based on a user's event. More particularly, the systemtracks a user's device and modifies the transport to be moved proximateto the user upon the conclusion of the original event or a modifiedevent. In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to allow forthe validation of available locations within an area through theexisting transports within the area. The approximate time when alocation may be vacated is also determined based on verifications fromthe existing transports. In one example, the solutions can also beutilized to move a transport to closer parking spaces as one becomesavailable and the elapsed time since initially parking is less than theaverage event time. Furthermore, moving the transport to a final parkingspace when the event is completed or according to a location of a deviceassociated with at least one occupant of the transport. In one example,the solutions can also be utilized to plan for the parking before theupcoming crowd. The system interacts with the transport to offer someservices at a less than full price and/or guide the transport toalternative parking locations based on a priority of the transport,increasing optimization of the parking situation before arriving.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to sell fractionalownership in transports or determine pricing and availability inride-sharing applications. In one example, the solutions can also beutilized to provide accurate and timely reports of dealership salesactivities well beyond what is currently available. In one example, thesolutions can also be utilized to allow a dealership to request an assetover the blockchain. By using the blockchain, a consensus is obtainedbefore any asset is moved. Additionally, the process is automated, andpayment may be initiated over the blockchain. In one example, thesolutions can also be utilized to arrange agreements that are made withmultiple entities (such as service centers) wherein a consensus isacquired and an action performed (such as diagnostics). In one example,the solutions can also be utilized to associate digital keys withmultiple users. A first user may be the transport operator, and a seconduser is a responsible party for the transport. These keys are authorizedby a server where the proximity of the keys is validated against thelocation of a service provider. In one example, the solutions can alsobe utilized to determine a needed service on a transport destination.One or more service locations are located that can provide the neededservice that is both within an area on route to the destination and hasavailability to perform the service. The navigation of the transport isupdated with the determined service location. A smart contract isidentified that contains a compensation value for the service, and ablockchain transaction is stored in a distributed ledger for thetransaction.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to interfacing aservice provider transport with a profile of an occupant of a transportto determine services and goods which may be of interest to occupants ina transport. These services and goods are determined by an occupant'shistory and/or preferences. The transport then receives offers from theservice provider transport and, in another example, meets the transportto provide the service/good. In one example, the solutions can also beutilized to detect a transport within a range and send a service offerto the transport (such as a maintenance offer, a product offer, or thelike). An agreement is made between the system and the transport, and aservice provider is selected by the system to provide the agreement. Inone example, the solutions can also be utilized to assign one or moretransports as a roadway manager, where the roadway manager assists incontrolling traffic. The roadway manager may generate a roadwayindicator (such as lights, displays, and sounds) to assist in the flowof traffic. In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to alerta driver of a transport by a device, wherein the device may be thetraffic light or near an intersection. The alert is sent upon an event,such as when a light turns green, and the transport in the front of alist of transports does not move.

FIG. 2H is another block diagram showing interconnections betweendifferent elements in one example 290. A transport 276 is presented andincludes ECUs 295, 296, and a Head Unit (otherwise known as anInfotainment System) 297. An Electrical Control Unit (ECU) is anembedded system in automotive electronics controlling one or more of theelectrical systems or subsystems in a transport. ECUs may include butare not limited to the management of a transport's engine, brake system,gearbox system, door locks, dashboard, airbag system, infotainmentsystem, electronic differential, and active suspension. ECUs areconnected to the transport's Controller Area Network (CAN) bus 294. TheECUs may also communicate with a transport computer 298 via the CAN bus294. The transport's processors/sensors (such as the transport computer)298 can communicate with external elements, such as a server 293 via anetwork 292 (such as the Internet). Each ECU 295, 296, and Head Unit 297may contain its own security policy. The security policy definespermissible processes that can be executed in the proper context. In oneexample, the security policy may be partially or entirely provided inthe transport computer 298.

ECUs 295, 296, and Head Unit 297 may each include a custom securityfunctionality element 299 defining authorized processes and contextswithin which those processes are permitted to run. Context-basedauthorization to determine validity if a process can be executed allowsECUs to maintain secure operation and prevent unauthorized access fromelements such as the transport's Controller Area Network (CAN Bus). Whenan ECU encounters a process that is unauthorized, that ECU can block theprocess from operating. Automotive ECUs can use different contexts todetermine whether a process is operating within its permitted bounds,such as proximity contexts such as nearby objects, distance toapproaching objects, speed, and trajectory relative to other movingobjects, and operational contexts such as an indication of whether thetransport is moving or parked, the transport's current speed, thetransmission state, user-related contexts such as devices connected tothe transport via wireless protocols, use of the infotainment, cruisecontrol, parking assist, driving assist, location-based contexts, and/orother contexts.

In one example, the solutions described and depicted herein can beutilized to make a transport partially inoperable by (in certainembodiments), limiting speed, limiting the ability to be near anothervehicle, limiting speed to a maximum, and allowing only a given numberof miles allowed per time period. In one example, the solutions can alsobe utilized to use a blockchain to facilitate the exchange of vehiclepossession wherein data is sent to a server by devices either associatedwith an accident with a transport, or devices proximate to the accident.Based on the severity of the accident or near accident, the servernotifies the senders of the data. In one example, the solutions can alsobe utilized to help the transport to avoid accidents, such as when thetransport is involved in an accident by a server that queries othertransports that are proximate to the accident. The server seeks toobtain data from the other transports, allowing the server to understandthe nature of the accident from multiple vantage points. In one example,the solutions can also be utilized to determine that sounds from atransport are atypical and transmit data related to the sounds and apossible source location to a server wherein the server can determinepossible causes and avoid a potentially dangerous situation. In oneexample, the solutions can also be utilized to establish a locationboundary via the system when a transport is involved in an accident.This boundary is based on decibels associated with the accident.Multimedia content for a device within the boundary is obtained toassist in further understanding the scenario of the accident. In oneexample, the solutions can also be utilized to associate a vehicle withan accident, then capture media obtained by devices proximate to thelocation of the accident. The captured media is saved as a mediasegment. The media segment is sent to another computing device whichbuilds a sound profile of the accident. This sound profile will assistin understanding more details surrounding the accident.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to utilize sensors torecord audio, video, motion, etc. to record an area where a potentialevent has occurred, such as if a transport comes in contact or may comein contact with another transport (while moving or parked), the systemcaptures data from the sensors which may reside on one or more of thetransports and/or on fixed or mobile objects. In one example, thesolutions can also be utilized to determine that a transport has beendamaged by using sensor data to identify a new condition of thetransport during a transport event and comparing the condition to atransport condition profile, making it possible to safely and securelycapture critical data from a transport that is about to be engaged in adetrimental event.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to warn occupants ofa transport when the transport, via one or more sensors, has determinedthat it is approaching or going down a one-way road the incorrect way.The transport has sensors/cameras/maps interacting with the system ofthe current solution. The system knows the geographic location ofone-way streets. The system may audibly inform the occupants,“Approaching a one-way street,” for example. In one example, thesolutions can also be utilized to allow the transport to get paid,allowing autonomous vehicle owners to monetize the data their vehiclesensors collect and store, creating an incentive for vehicle owners toshare their data and provide entities with additional data through whichto improve the performance of future vehicles, provide services to thevehicle owners, etc.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to either increase ordecrease a vehicle's features according to the action of the vehicleover a period of time. In one example, the solutions can also beutilized to assign a fractional ownership to a transport. Sensor datarelated to one or more transports and a device proximate to thetransport are used to determine a condition of the transport. Thefractional ownership of the transport is determined based on thecondition, and a new transport responsibility is provided. In oneexample, the solutions can also be utilized to provide data to areplacement/upfitting component, wherein the data attempts to subvert anauthorized functionality of the replacement/upfitting component, andresponsive to a non-subversion of the authorized functionality,permitting, by the component, use of the authorized functionality of thereplacement/upfitting component.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to provideindividuals the ability to ensure that an occupant should be in atransport and for that occupant to reach a particular destination.Further, the system ensures a driver (if a non-autonomous transport)and/or other occupants are authorized to interact with the occupant.Also, pickups, drop-offs and location are noted. All of the above arestored in an immutable fashion on a blockchain. In one example, thesolutions can also be utilized to determine the characteristics of adriver via an analysis of driving style and other elements to takeaction if the driver is not driving in a normal manner, such as a mannerin which the driver has previously driven in a particular condition, forexample during the day, at night, in the rain, in the snow, etc.Further, the attributes of the transport are also taken into account.Attributes include weather, whether the headlights are on, whethernavigation is being used, a HUD is being used, the volume of media beingplayed, etc. In one example, the solutions can also be utilized tonotify occupants in a transport of a dangerous situation when itemsinside the transport signify that the occupants may not be aware of thedangerous situation.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to mount calibrationdevices on a rig that is fixed to a vehicle, wherein the various sensorson the transport can automatically self-adjust based on what should bedetected by the calibration devices as compared to what is actuallydetected. In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to use ablockchain to require consensus from a plurality of service centers whena transport needing service sends malfunction information allowingremote diagnostic functionality wherein a consensus is required fromother service centers on what a severity threshold is for the data. Oncethe consensus is received, the service center may send the malfunctionsecurity level to the blockchain to be stored. In one example, thesolutions can also be utilized to determine a difference in sensor dataexternal to the transport and the transport's own sensor data. Thetransport requests, from a server, a software to rectify the issue. Inone example, the solutions can also be utilized to allow for themessaging of transports that are either nearby or in the area when anevent occurs (e.g., a collision).

Referring to FIG. 2I, an operating environment 290A for a connectedtransport, is illustrated according to some embodiments. As depicted,the transport 276 includes a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus 291Aconnecting elements 292A—299A of the transport. Other elements may beconnected to the CAN bus and are not depicted herein. The depictedelements connected to the CAN bus include a sensor set 292A, ElectronicControl Units 293A, autonomous features or Advanced Driver AssistanceSystems (ADAS) 294A, and the navigation system 295A. In someembodiments, the transport 276 includes a processor 296A, a memory 297A,a communication unit 298A, and an electronic display 299A.

The processor 296A includes an arithmetic logic unit, a microprocessor,a general-purpose controller, and/or a similar processor array toperform computations and provide electronic display signals to a displayunit 299A. The processor 296A processes data signals and may includevarious computing architectures, including a complex instruction setcomputer (CISC) architecture, a reduced instruction set computer (RISC)architecture, or an architecture implementing a combination ofinstruction sets. The transport 276 may include one or more processors296A. Other processors, operating systems, sensors, displays, andphysical configurations that are communicably coupled to one another(not depicted) may be used with the instant solution.

Memory 297A is a non-transitory memory storing instructions or data thatmay be accessed and executed by the processor 296A. The instructionsand/or data may include code to perform the techniques described herein.The memory 297A may be a dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) device, astatic random-access memory (SRAM) device, flash memory, or anothermemory device. In some embodiments, the memory 297A also may includenon-volatile memory or a similar permanent storage device and media,which may include a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive, a CD-ROMdevice, a DVD-ROM device, a DVD-RAM device, a DVD-RW device, a flashmemory device, or some other mass storage device for storing informationon a permanent basis. A portion of the memory 297A may be reserved foruse as a buffer or virtual random-access memory (virtual RAM). Thetransport 276 may include one or more memories 297A without deviatingfrom the current solution.

The memory 297A of the transport 276 may store one or more of thefollowing types of data: navigation route data 295A, and autonomousfeatures data 294A. In some embodiments, the memory 297A stores datathat may be necessary for the navigation application 295A to provide thefunctions.

The navigation system 295A may describe at least one navigation routeincluding a start point and an endpoint. In some embodiments, thenavigation system 295A of the transport 276 receives a request from auser for navigation routes wherein the request includes a starting pointand an ending point. The navigation system 295A may query a real-timedata server 293 (via a network 292), such as a server that providesdriving directions, for navigation route data corresponding tonavigation routes, including the start point and the endpoint. Thereal-time data server 293 transmits the navigation route data to thetransport 276 via a wireless network 292, and the communication system298A stores the navigation data 295A in the memory 297A of the transport276.

The ECU 293A controls the operation of many of the systems of thetransport 276, including the ADAS systems 294A. The ECU 293A may,responsive to instructions received from the navigation system 295A,deactivate any unsafe and/or unselected autonomous features for theduration of a journey controlled by the ADAS systems 294A. In this way,the navigation system 295A may control whether ADAS systems 294A areactivated or enabled so that they may be activated for a givennavigation route.

The sensor set 292A may include any sensors in the transport 276generating sensor data. For example, the sensor set 292A may includeshort-range sensors and long-range sensors. In some embodiments, thesensor set 292A of the transport 276 may include one or more of thefollowing vehicle sensors: a camera, a Lidar sensor, an ultrasonicsensor, an automobile engine sensor, a radar sensor, a laser altimeter,a manifold absolute pressure sensor, an infrared detector, a motiondetector, a thermostat, a sound detector, a carbon monoxide sensor, acarbon dioxide sensor, an oxygen sensor, a mass airflow sensor, anengine coolant temperature sensor, a throttle position sensor, acrankshaft position sensor, a valve timer, an air-fuel ratio meter, ablind spot meter, a curb feeler, a defect detector, a Hall effectsensor, a parking sensor, a radar gun, a speedometer, a speed sensor, atire-pressure monitoring sensor, a torque sensor, a transmission fluidtemperature sensor, a turbine speed sensor (TSS), a variable reluctancesensor, a vehicle speed sensor (VSS), a water sensor, a wheel speedsensor, a GPS sensor, a mapping functionality, and any other type ofautomotive sensor. The navigation system 295A may store the sensor datain the memory 297A.

The communication unit 298A transmits and receives data to and from thenetwork 292 or to another communication channel. In some embodiments,the communication unit 298A may include a DSRC transceiver, a DSRCreceiver, and other hardware or software necessary to make the transport276 a DSRC-equipped device.

The transport 276 may interact with other transports 277 via V2Vtechnology. V2V communication includes sensing radar informationcorresponding to relative distances to external objects, receiving GPSinformation of the transports, setting areas as areas where the othertransports 277 are located based on the sensed radar information,calculating probabilities that the GPS information of the objectvehicles will be located at the set areas, and identifying transportsand/or objects corresponding to the radar information and the GPSinformation of the object vehicles based on the calculatedprobabilities, in one example.

In one example, the solutions described and depicted herein can beutilized to manage emergency scenarios and transport features when atransport is determined to be entering an area without network access.In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to manage and providefeatures in a transport (such as audio, video, navigation, etc.) withoutnetwork connection. In one example, the solutions can also be utilizedto determine when a profile of a person in proximity to the transportmatches profile attributes of a profile of at least one occupant in thetransport. A notification is sent from the transport to establishcommunication.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to analyze theavailability of occupants in respective transports that are availablefor a voice communication based on an amount of time remaining in thetransport and context of the communication to be performed. In oneexample, the solutions can also be utilized to determine two levels ofthreat of roadway obstruction and receiving a gesture that may indicatethat the obstruction is not rising to an alert above a threshold, andproceeding, by the transport along the roadway. In one example, thesolutions can also be utilized to delete sensitive data from a transportwhen the transport has had damage such that it is rendered unable to beused.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to verify that thecustomer data to be removed has truly been removed from all of therequired locations within the enterprise, demonstrating GDPR compliance.In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to provideconsideration from one transport to another transport in exchange fordata related to safety, important notifications, etc. to enhance theautonomous capabilities of the lower-level autonomous vehicle. In oneexample, the solutions can also be utilized to provide an ability for atransport to receive data based on a first biometric associated with anoccupant. Then the transport unencrypts the encrypted data based on averification of a second biometric, wherein the second biometric is acontinuum of the first biometric. The transport provides the unencrypteddata to the occupant when only the occupant can receive the unencrypteddata and deletes a sensitive portion of the unencrypted data as thesensitive portion is being provided and a non-sensitive portion after aperiod of time associated with the biometric elapses. In one example,the solutions can also be utilized to provide an ability for a transportto validate an individual based on a weight and grip pressure applied tothe steering wheel of the transport. In one example, the solutions canalso be utilized to provide a feature to a car that exists but is notcurrently enabled, presenting features to an occupant of the automobilethat reflects the occupant's characteristics.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to allow for themodification of a transport, particularly the interior of the transportand the exterior of the transport to reflect and assist at least oneoccupant, in one example. In another example, recreating an occupant'swork and/or home environment is disclosed. The system may attempt to“recreate” the user's work/home environment while the user is in thetransport if it determines that the user is in “work mode” or “homemode”. All data relating to the interior and exterior of the transportas well as the various occupants utilizing the transport are stored on ablockchain and executed via smart contracts. In one example, thesolutions can also be utilized to detect occupant gestures to assist incommunicating with nearby transports wherein the transport may maneuveraccordingly. In one example, the solutions can also be utilized toprovide the ability for a transport to detect intended gestures using agesture definition datastore. In one example, the solutions can also beutilized to provide an ability for a transport to take various actionsbased on a gait and a user's gesture. In one example, the solutions canalso be utilized to ensure that a driver of a transport that iscurrently engaged in various operations (for example, driving whiletalking with navigation on, etc.) does not exceed an unsafe number ofoperations before being permitted to gesture.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to assign a status toeach occupant in a transport and validating a gesture from an occupantbased on the occupant's status. In one example, the solutions can alsobe utilized to collect details of sound related to a collision (in whatlocation, in what direction, rising or falling, from what device, dataassociated with the device such as type, manufacturer, owner, as well asthe number of contemporaneous sounds, and the times the sounds wereemanated, etc.) and provide to the system where analysis of the dataassists in determining details regarding the collision. In one example,the solutions can also be utilized to determine whether a transport isunsafe to operate. The transport includes multiple components thatinteroperate to control the transport, and each component is associatedwith a separate component key. A cryptographic key is sent to thetransport to decrease transport functionality. In response to receivingthe cryptographic key, the transport disables one or more of thecomponent keys. Disabling the one or more component keys results in oneor more of limiting the transport to not move greater than a givenspeed, limiting the transport to not come closer than a distance toanother transport, and limiting the transport to not travel greater thana threshold distance.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to provide anindication from one specific transport (that is about to vacate alocation) to another specific transport (that is seeking to occupy alocation), a blockchain is used to perform authentication andcoordination. In one example, the solutions can also be utilized todetermine a fractional responsibility for a transport. Such as the casewhere multiple people own a single transport, and the use of thetransport, which may change over a period of time, is used by the systemto update the fractional ownership. Other embodiments will be includedin the application, including a minimal ownership of a transport basedon not the use of the transport but the availability of the transport,and the determination of the driver of the transport as well as others.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to permit in atransport a user to his/her subscriptions with a closed group of peoplesuch as family members or friends. For example, a user might want toshare a membership, and if so, associated transactions are stored in ablockchain or traditional database. When the subscribed materials arerequested by a user, who is not a primary subscriber, a blockchain node(i.e., a transport) can verify that a person requesting a service is anauthorized person with whom the subscriber has shared the profile. Inone example, the solutions can also be utilized to allow a person toutilize supplemental transport(s) to arrive at an intended destination.A functional relationship value (e.g., value that indicates the variousparameters and their importance in determining what type of alternatetransport to utilize) is used in determining the supplemental transport.In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to allow theoccupants in an accident to access other transports to continue to theirinitial destination.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to propagate asoftware/firmware upload to a first subset of transports. This first setof transports tests the update, and when the test is successful, theupdate is propagated to a further set of transports. In one example, thesolutions can also be utilized to propagate software/firmware updates tovehicles from a master transport where the update is propagated throughthe network of vehicles from a first subset, then a larger subset, etc.A portion of the update may be first sent, then the remaining portionsent from the same or another vehicle. In one example, the solutions canalso be utilized to provide an update for a transport's computer to thetransport and a transport operator's/occupant's device. The update ismaybe authorized by all drivers and/or all occupants. The softwareupdate is provided to the vehicle and the device(s). The user does nothave to do anything but go proximate to the vehicle and thefunctionality automatically occurs. A notification is sent to thedevice(s) indicating that the software update is completed. In oneexample, the solutions can also be utilized to validate that an OTAsoftware update is performed by a qualified technician and generation,by the one or more transport components, of a status related to anoriginator of the validation code, a procedure for wirelessly receivingthe software update, information contained in the software update, andresults of the validation.

In one example, the solutions can also be utilized to provide theability to parse a software update located in a first component by asecond component. Then verifying the first portion of critical updatesand a second portion of non-critical updates, assigning the verifiedfirst portion to one process in the transport, running the verifiedfirst portion with the one process for a period of time, and responsiveto positive results based on the period of time, running the verifiedfirst portion with other processes after the period of time. In oneexample, the solutions can also be utilized to provide a selection ofservices to an occupant where the services are based on a profile of anoccupant of the transport, and a shared profile that is shared with theprofile of the occupant. In one example, the solutions can also beutilized to store user profile data in a blockchain and intelligentlypresent offers and recommendations to a user based on the user'sautomatically gathered history of purchases and preferences acquiredfrom the user profile on the blockchain.

For a transport to be adequately secured, the transport must beprotected from unauthorized physical access as well as unauthorizedremote access (e.g., cyber-threats). To prevent unauthorized physicalaccess, a transport is equipped with a secure access system such as akeyless entry in one example. Meanwhile, security protocols are added toa transport's computers and computer networks to facilitate secureremote communications to and from the transport in one example.

Electronic Control Units (ECUs) are nodes within a transport thatcontrol tasks such as activating the windshield wipers to tasks such asan anti-lock brake system. ECUs are often connected to one anotherthrough the transport's central network, which may be referred to as acontroller area network (CAN). State-of-the-art features such asautonomous driving are strongly reliant on implementing new, complexECUs such as advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), sensors, and thelike. While these new technologies have helped improve the safety anddriving experience of a transport, they have also increased the numberof externally-communicating units inside of the transport, making themmore vulnerable to attack. Below are some examples of protecting thetransport from physical intrusion and remote intrusion.

FIG. 2J illustrates a keyless entry system 290B to prevent unauthorizedphysical access to a transport 291B, according to example embodiments.Referring to FIG. 2J, a key fob 292B transmits commands to a transport291B using radio frequency signals in one example. In this example, thekey fob 292B includes a transmitter 2921B with an antenna that iscapable of sending short-range wireless radio signals. The transport291B includes a receiver 2911B with an antenna that is capable ofreceiving the short-range wireless signal transmitted from thetransmitter 2921B. The key fob 292B and the transport 291B also includeCPUs 2922B and 2913B, respectively, which control the respectivedevices. Here, a memory of the CPUs 2922B and 2913B (or accessible tothe CPUs). Each of the key fob 292B and the transport 291B includespower supplies 2924B and 2915B for powering the respective devices inone example.

When the user presses a button 293B (or otherwise actuates the fob,etc.) on the key fob 292B, the CPU 2922B wakes up inside the key fob292B and sends a data stream to the transmitter 2921B, which is outputvia the antenna. In other embodiments, the user's intent is acknowledgedon the key fob 292B via other means, such as via a microphone thataccepts audio, a camera that captures images and/or video, or othersensors that are commonly utilized in the art to detect intent from auser including receiving gestures, motion, eye movements, and the like.The data stream may be a 64-bit to 128-bit long signal, which includesone or more of a preamble, a command code, and a rolling code. Thesignal may be sent at a rate between 2 KHz and 20 KHz, but embodimentsare not limited thereto. In response, the receiver 2911B of thetransport 291B captures the signal from the transmitter 2921B,demodulates the signal, and sends the data stream to the CPU 2913B,which decodes the signal and sends commands (e.g., lock the door, unlockthe door, etc.) to a command module 2912B.

If the key fob 292B and the transport 291B use a fixed code betweenthem, replay attacks can be performed. In this case, if the attacker cancapture/sniff the fixed code during the short-range communication, theattacker could replay this code to gain entry into the transport 291B.To improve security, the key fob and the transport 291B may use arolling code that changes after each use. Here, the key fob 292B and thetransport 291B are synchronized with an initial seed 2923B (e.g., arandom number, pseudo-random number, etc.). This is referred to aspairing. The key fob 292B and the transport 291B also include a sharedalgorithm for modifying the initial seed 2914B each time the button 293Bis pressed. The following keypress will take the result of the previouskeypress as an input and transform it into the next number in thesequence. In some cases, the transport 291B may store multiple nextcodes (e.g., 255 next codes) in case the keypress on the key fob 292B isnot detected by the transport 291B. Thus, a number of keypress on thekey fob 292B that are unheard by the transport 291B do not prevent thetransport from becoming out of sync.

In addition to rolling codes, the key fob 292B and the transport 291Bmay employ other methods to make attacks even more difficult. Forexample, different frequencies may be used for transmitting the rollingcodes. As another example, two-way communication between the transmitter2921B and the receiver 2911B may be used to establish a secure session.As another example, codes may have limited expirations or timeouts.Further, the instant solution as described and depicted with respect toFIG. 2J can be utilized in this and other networks and/or systems,including those that are described and depicted herein.

FIG. 2K illustrates a controller area network (CAN) 290C within atransport, according to example embodiments. Referring to FIG. 2K, theCAN 290C includes a CAN bus 297C with a high and low terminal and aplurality of electronic control units (ECUs) 291C, 292C, 293C, etc.which are connected to the CAN bus 297C via wired connections. The CANbus 297C is designed to allow microcontrollers and devices tocommunicate with each other in an application without a host computer.The CAN bus 297C implements a message-based protocol (i.e., ISO 11898standards) that allows ECUs 291C-293C to send commands to one another ata root level. Meanwhile, the ECUs 291C-293C represent controllers forcontrolling electrical systems or subsystems within the transport.Examples of the electrical systems include power steering, anti-lockbrakes, air-conditioning, tire pressure monitoring, cruise control, andmany other features.

In this example, the ECU 291C includes a transceiver 2911C and amicrocontroller 2912C. The transceiver may be used to transmit andreceive messages to and from the CAN bus 297C. For example, thetransceiver 2911C may convert the data from the microcontroller 2912Cinto a format of the CAN bus 297C and also convert data from the CAN bus297C into a format for the microcontroller 2912C. Meanwhile, themicrocontroller 2912C interprets the messages and also decide whatmessages to send using ECU software installed therein in one example.

To protect the CAN 290C from cyber threats, various security protocolsmay be implemented. For example, sub-networks (e.g., sub-networks A andB, etc.) may be used to divide the CAN 290C into smaller sub-CANs andlimit an attacker's capabilities to access the transport remotely. Inthe example of FIG. 2K, ECUs 291C and 292C may be part of a samesub-network, while ECU 293C is part of an independent sub-network.Furthermore, a firewall 294C (or gateway, etc.) may be added to blockmessages from crossing the CAN bus 297C across sub-networks. If anattacker gains access to one sub-network, the attacker will not haveaccess to the entire network. To make sub-networks even more secure, themost critical ECUs are not placed on the same sub-network, in oneexample.

Although not shown in FIG. 2K, other examples of security controlswithin a CAN include an intrusion detection system (IDS) which can beadded to each sub-network and read all data passing to detect maliciousmessages. If a malicious message is detected, the IDS can notify theautomobile user. Other possible security protocols includeencryption/security keys that can be used to obscure messages. Asanother example, authentication protocols are implemented that enables amessage to authenticate itself, in one example.

In addition to protecting a transport's internal network, transports mayalso be protected when communicating with external networks such as theInternet. One of the benefits of having a transport connection to a datasource such as the Internet is that information from the transport canbe sent through a network to remote locations for analysis. Examples oftransport information include GPS, onboard diagnostics, tire pressure,and the like. These communication systems are often referred to astelematics because they involve the combination of telecommunicationsand informatics. Further, the instant solution as described and depictedwith respect to FIG. 2K can be utilized in this and other networksand/or systems, including those that are described and depicted herein.

FIG. 2L illustrates a secure end-to-end transport communication channelaccording to example embodiments. Referring to FIG. 2L, a telematicsnetwork 290D includes a transport 291D and a host server 295D that isdisposed at a remote location (e.g., a web server, a cloud platform, adatabase, etc.) and connected to the transport 291D via a network suchas the Internet. In this example, a device 296D associated with the hostserver 295D may be installed within the network inside the transport291D. Furthermore, although not shown, the device 296D may connect toother elements of the transport 291D, such as the CAN bus, an onboarddiagnostics (ODBII) port, a GPS system, a SIM card, a modem, and thelike. The device 296D may collect data from any of these systems andtransfer the data to the server 295D via the network.

Secure management of data begins with the transport 291D. In someembodiments, the device 296D may collect information before, during, andafter a trip. The data may include GPS data, travel data, passengerinformation, diagnostic data, fuel data, speed data, and the like.However, the device 296D may only communicate the collected informationback to the host server 295D in response to transport ignition and tripcompletion. Furthermore, communication may only be initiated by thedevice 296D and not by the host server 295D. As such, the device 296Dwill not accept communications initiated by outside sources in oneexample.

To perform the communication, the device 296D may establish a securedprivate network between the device 296D and the host server 295D. Here,the device 296D may include a tamper-proof SIM card that provides secureaccess to a carrier network 294D via a radio tower 292D. When preparingto transmit data to the host server 295D, the device 296D may establisha one-way secure connection with the host server 295D. The carriernetwork 294D may communicate with the host server 295D using one or moresecurity protocols. As a non-limiting example, the carrier network 294Dmay communicate with the host server 295D via a VPN tunnel which allowsaccess through a firewall 293D of the host server 295D. As anotherexample, the carrier network 294D may use data encryption (e.g., AESencryption, etc.) when transmitting data to the host server 295D. Insome cases, the system may use multiple security measures such as both aVPN and encryption to further secure the data.

In addition to communicating with external servers, transports may alsocommunicate with each other. In particular, transport-to-transport (V2V)communication systems enable transports to communicate with each other,roadside infrastructures (e.g., traffic lights, signs, cameras, parkingmeters, etc.), and the like, over a wireless network. The wirelessnetwork may include one or more of Wi-Fi networks, cellular networks,dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) networks, and the like.Transports may use V2V communication to provide other transports withinformation about a transport's speed, acceleration, braking, anddirection, to name a few. Accordingly, transports can receive insightinto the conditions ahead before such conditions become visible, thusgreatly reducing collisions. Further, the instant solution as describedand depicted with respect to FIG. 2L can be utilized in this and othernetworks and/or systems, including those that are described and depictedherein.

FIG. 2M illustrates an example 290E of transports 293E and 292Eperforming secured V2V communications using security certificates,according to example embodiments. Referring to FIG. 2M, the transports293E and 292E may communicate via V2V communications over a short-rangenetwork, a cellular network, or the like. Before sending messages, thetransports 293E and 292E may sign the messages using a respective publickey certificate. For example, the transport 293E may sign a V2V messageusing a public key certificate 294E. Likewise, the transport 292E maysign a V2V message using a public key certificate 295E. The public keycertificates 294E and 295E are associated with the transports 293E and292E, respectively, in one example.

Upon receiving the communications from each other, the transports mayverify the signatures with a certificate authority 291E or the like. Forexample, the transport 292E may verify with the certificate authority291E that the public key certificate 294E used by transport 293E to signa V2V communication is authentic. If the transport 292E successfullyverifies the public key certificate 294E, the transport knows that thedata is from a legitimate source. Likewise, the transport 293E mayverify with the certificate authority 291E that the public keycertificate 295E used by the transport 292E to sign a V2V communicationis authentic. Further, the instant solution as described and depictedwith respect to FIG. 2M can be utilized in this and other networksand/or systems including those that are described and depicted herein.

FIG. 2N illustrates yet a further diagram 290F depicting an example of atransport interacting with a security processor and a wireless device,according to example embodiments. In some embodiments, the computer 224shown in FIG. 2B may include security processor 292F as shown in theprocess 290F of the example of FIG. 2N. In particular, the securityprocessor 292F may perform authorization, authentication, cryptography(e.g., encryption), and the like, for data transmissions that are sentbetween ECUs and other devices on a CAN bus of a vehicle, and also datamessages that are transmitted between different vehicles.

In the example of FIG. 2N, the security processor 292F may include anauthorization module 293F, an authentication module 294F, and acryptography module 295F. The security processor 292F may be implementedwithin the transport's computer and may communicate with other transportelements, for example, the ECUs/CAN network 296F, wired and wirelessdevices 298F such as wireless network interfaces, input ports, and thelike. The security processor 292F may ensure that data frames (e.g., CANframes, etc.) that are transmitted internally within a transport (e.g.,via the ECUs/CAN network 296F) are secure. Likewise, the securityprocessor 292F can ensure that messages transmitted between differenttransports and devices attached or connected via a wire to thetransport's computer are also secured.

For example, the authorization module 293F may store passwords,usernames, PIN codes, biometric scans, and the like for differenttransport users. The authorization module 293F may determine whether auser (or technician) has permission to access certain settings such as atransport's computer. In some embodiments, the authorization module maycommunicate with a network interface to download any necessaryauthorization information from an external server. When a user desiresto make changes to the transport settings or modify technical details ofthe transport via a console or GUI within the transport or via anattached/connected device, the authorization module 293F may require theuser to verify themselves in some way before such settings are changed.For example, the authorization module 293F may require a username, apassword, a PIN code, a biometric scan, a predefined line drawing orgesture, and the like. In response, the authorization module 293F maydetermine whether the user has the necessary permissions (access, etc.)being requested.

The authentication module 294F may be used to authenticate internalcommunications between ECUs on the CAN network of the vehicle. As anexample, the authentication module 294F may provide information forauthenticating communications between the ECUS. As an example, theauthentication module 294F may transmit a bit signature algorithm to theECUs of the CAN network. The ECUs may use the bit signature algorithm toinsert authentication bits into the CAN fields of the CAN frame. AllECUs on the CAN network typically receive each CAN frame. The bitsignature algorithm may dynamically change the position, amount, etc.,of authentication bits each time a new CAN frame is generated by one ofthe ECUs. The authentication module 294F may also provide a list of ECUsthat are exempt (safe list) and that do not need to use theauthentication bits. The authentication module 294F may communicate witha remote server to retrieve updates to the bit signature algorithm andthe like.

The encryption module 295F may store asymmetric key pairs to be used bythe transport to communicate with other external user devices andtransports. For example, the encryption module 295F may provide aprivate key to be used by the transport to encrypt/decryptcommunications, while the corresponding public key may be provided toother user devices and transports to enable the other devices todecrypt/encrypt the communications. The encryption module 295F maycommunicate with a remote server to receive new keys, updates to keys,keys of new transports, users, etc., and the like. The encryption module295F may also transmit any updates to a local private/public key pair tothe remote server.

FIG. 3A illustrates a flow diagram 300, according to exampleembodiments. Referring to FIG. 3A, the flow diagram includes receiving,by a server, vehicle identification data from at least two components ina vehicle and device data from a device associated with the vehicle 302,sending, by the server, the vehicle identification data to the deviceand the device data to the at least two components in the vehicle 304,and pre-pairing the vehicle and the device, based on the sending 306.

FIG. 3B illustrates another flow diagram 320, according to exampleembodiments. Referring to FIG. 3B, the flow diagram includes one or moreof pairing the pre-paired vehicle and the pre-paired device when theyare proximate one another 322, communicating between the at least twocomponents in the paired vehicle and the paired device 323,authenticating, by the server, ownership information for the vehiclewith a digital key and the vehicle identification data, where the devicedata includes the ownership information for the vehicle 324, verifyingcompatibility between the vehicle identification data and the devicedata, assigning an identifier to a combination of the vehicle and thedevice, sending, by the server, the identifier to the vehicle and thedevice, and authenticating communications between the server and thedevice while paired, with the identifier 325, receiving a request fromanother device to pair with the vehicle, sending a notification to thedevice to approve the request, approving, by the device, the request,and pre-pairing the other device with the vehicle, by the server 326,and in response to pre-pairing the vehicle and the device, receiving, bythe server, vehicle identification data from at least two components inone or more other vehicles, verifying common ownership of the vehicleand the one or more other vehicles, and pre-pairing the one or moreother vehicles and the device, based on the verified common ownership327.

FIG. 3C illustrates yet another flow diagram 340, according to exampleembodiments. Referring to FIG. 3C, the flow diagram includes one or moreof receiving a confirmation of an event from one or more elementsdescribed or depicted herein, wherein the confirmation comprises ablockchain consensus between peers represented by any of the elements342 and executing a smart contract to record the confirmation on ablockchain-based on the blockchain consensus 344.

FIG. 4 illustrates a machine learning transport network diagram 400,according to example embodiments. The network 400 includes a transport402 that interfaces with a machine learning subsystem 406. The transportincludes one or more sensors 404.

The machine learning subsystem 406 contains a learning model 408, whichis a mathematical artifact created by a machine learning training system410 that generates predictions by finding patterns in one or moretraining data sets. In some embodiments, the machine learning subsystem406 resides in the transport 402. In other embodiments, the machinelearning subsystem 406 resides outside of the transport 402.

The transport 402 sends data from the one or more sensors 404 to themachine learning subsystem 406. The machine learning subsystem 406provides the one or more sensor 404 data to the learning model 408,which returns one or more predictions. The machine learning subsystem406 sends one or more instructions to the transport 402 based on thepredictions from the learning model 408.

In a further embodiment, the transport 402 may send the one or moresensor 404 data to the machine learning training system 410. In yetanother example, the machine learning subsystem 406 may send the sensor404 data to the machine learning subsystem 410. One or more of theapplications, features, steps, solutions, etc., described and/ordepicted herein may utilize the machine learning network 400 asdescribed herein.

FIG. 5A illustrates an example vehicle configuration 500 for managingdatabase transactions associated with a vehicle, according to exampleembodiments. Referring to FIG. 5A, as a particular transport/vehicle 525is engaged in transactions (e.g., vehicle service, dealer transactions,delivery/pickup, transportation services, etc.), the vehicle may receiveassets 510 and/or expel/transfer assets 512 according to atransaction(s). A transport processor 526 resides in the vehicle 525 andcommunication exists between the transport processor 526, a database530, a transport processor 526 and the transaction module 520. Thetransaction module 520 may record information, such as assets, parties,credits, service descriptions, date, time, location, results,notifications, unexpected events, etc. Those transactions in thetransaction module 520 may be replicated into a database 530. Thedatabase 530 can be one of a SQL database, an RDBMS, a relationaldatabase, a non-relational database, a blockchain, a distributed ledger,and may be on board the transport, may be off-board the transport, maybe accessed directly and/or through a network, or be accessible to thetransport.

FIG. 5B illustrates an example vehicle configuration 550 for managingdatabase transactions conducted among various vehicles, according toexample embodiments. The vehicle 525 may engage with another vehicle 508to perform various actions such as to share, transfer, acquire servicecalls, etc. when the vehicle has reached a status where the servicesneed to be shared with another vehicle. For example, the vehicle 508 maybe due for a battery charge and/or may have an issue with a tire and maybe in route to pick up a package for delivery. A transport processor 528resides in the vehicle 508 and communication exists between thetransport processor 528, a database 554, and the transaction module 552.The vehicle 508 may notify another vehicle 525, which is in its networkand which operates on its blockchain member service. A transportprocessor 526 resides in the vehicle 525 and communication existsbetween the transport processor 526, a database 530, the transportprocessor 526 and a transaction module 520. The vehicle 525 may thenreceive the information via a wireless communication request to performthe package pickup from the vehicle 508 and/or from a server (notshown). The transactions are logged in the transaction modules 552 and520 of both vehicles. The credits are transferred from vehicle 508 tovehicle 525 and the record of the transferred service is logged in thedatabase 530/554 assuming that the blockchains are different from oneanother, or are logged in the same blockchain used by all members. Thedatabase 554 can be one of a SQL database, an RDBMS, a relationaldatabase, a non-relational database, a blockchain, a distributed ledger,and may be on board the transport, may be off-board the transport, maybe accessible directly and/or through a network.

FIG. 6A illustrates a blockchain architecture configuration 600,according to example embodiments. Referring to FIG. 6A, the blockchainarchitecture 600 may include certain blockchain elements, for example, agroup of blockchain member nodes 602-606 as part of a blockchain group610. In one example embodiment, a permissioned blockchain is notaccessible to all parties but only to those members with permissionedaccess to the blockchain data. The blockchain nodes participate in anumber of activities, such as blockchain entry addition and validationprocess (consensus). One or more of the blockchain nodes may endorseentries based on an endorsement policy and may provide an orderingservice for all blockchain nodes. A blockchain node may initiate ablockchain action (such as an authentication) and seek to write to ablockchain immutable ledger stored in the blockchain, a copy of whichmay also be stored on the underpinning physical infrastructure.

The blockchain transactions 620 are stored in memory of computers as thetransactions are received and approved by the consensus model dictatedby the members' nodes. Approved transactions 626 are stored in currentblocks of the blockchain and committed to the blockchain via a committalprocedure, which includes performing a hash of the data contents of thetransactions in a current block and referencing a previous hash of aprevious block. Within the blockchain, one or more smart contracts 630may exist that define the terms of transaction agreements and actionsincluded in smart contract executable application code 632, such asregistered recipients, vehicle features, requirements, permissions,sensor thresholds, etc. The code may be configured to identify whetherrequesting entities are registered to receive vehicle services, whatservice features they are entitled/required to receive given theirprofile statuses and whether to monitor their actions in subsequentevents. For example, when a service event occurs and a user is riding inthe vehicle, the sensor data monitoring may be triggered, and a certainparameter, such as a vehicle charge level, may be identified as beingabove/below a particular threshold for a particular period of time, thenthe result may be a change to a current status, which requires an alertto be sent to the managing party (i.e., vehicle owner, vehicle operator,server, etc.) so the service can be identified and stored for reference.The vehicle sensor data collected may be based on types of sensor dataused to collect information about vehicle's status. The sensor data mayalso be the basis for the vehicle event data 634, such as a location(s)to be traveled, an average speed, a top speed, acceleration rates,whether there were any collisions, was the expected route taken, what isthe next destination, whether safety measures are in place, whether thevehicle has enough charge/fuel, etc. All such information may be thebasis of smart contract terms 630, which are then stored in ablockchain. For example, sensor thresholds stored in the smart contractcan be used as the basis for whether a detected service is necessary andwhen and where the service should be performed.

FIG. 6B illustrates a shared ledger configuration, according to exampleembodiments. Referring to FIG. 6B, the blockchain logic example 640includes a blockchain application interface 642 as an API or plug-inapplication that links to the computing device and execution platformfor a particular transaction. The blockchain configuration 640 mayinclude one or more applications, which are linked to applicationprogramming interfaces (APIs) to access and execute storedprogram/application code (e.g., smart contract executable code, smartcontracts, etc.), which can be created according to a customizedconfiguration sought by participants and can maintain their own state,control their own assets, and receive external information. This can bedeployed as an entry and installed, via appending to the distributedledger, on all blockchain nodes.

The smart contract application code 644 provides a basis for theblockchain transactions by establishing application code, which whenexecuted causes the transaction terms and conditions to become active.The smart contract 630, when executed, causes certain approvedtransactions 626 to be generated, which are then forwarded to theblockchain platform 652. The platform includes a security/authorization658, computing devices, which execute the transaction management 656 anda storage portion 654 as a memory that stores transactions and smartcontracts in the blockchain.

The blockchain platform may include various layers of blockchain data,services (e.g., cryptographic trust services, virtual executionenvironment, etc.), and underpinning physical computer infrastructurethat may be used to receive and store new entries and provide access toauditors, which are seeking to access data entries. The blockchain mayexpose an interface that provides access to the virtual executionenvironment necessary to process the program code and engage thephysical infrastructure. Cryptographic trust services may be used toverify entries such as asset exchange entries and keep informationprivate.

The blockchain architecture configuration of FIGS. 6A and 6B may processand execute program/application code via one or more interfaces exposed,and services provided, by the blockchain platform. As a non-limitingexample, smart contracts may be created to execute reminders, updates,and/or other notifications subject to the changes, updates, etc. Thesmart contracts can themselves be used to identify rules associated withauthorization and access requirements and usage of the ledger. Forexample, the information may include a new entry, which may be processedby one or more processing entities (e.g., processors, virtual machines,etc.) included in the blockchain layer. The result may include adecision to reject or approve the new entry based on the criteriadefined in the smart contract and/or a consensus of the peers. Thephysical infrastructure may be utilized to retrieve any of the data orinformation described herein.

Within smart contract executable code, a smart contract may be createdvia a high-level application and programming language, and then writtento a block in the blockchain. The smart contract may include executablecode that is registered, stored, and/or replicated with a blockchain(e.g., distributed network of blockchain peers). An entry is anexecution of the smart contract code, which can be performed in responseto conditions associated with the smart contract being satisfied. Theexecuting of the smart contract may trigger a trusted modification(s) toa state of a digital blockchain ledger. The modification(s) to theblockchain ledger caused by the smart contract execution may beautomatically replicated throughout the distributed network ofblockchain peers through one or more consensus protocols.

The smart contract may write data to the blockchain in the format ofkey-value pairs. Furthermore, the smart contract code can read thevalues stored in a blockchain and use them in application operations.The smart contract code can write the output of various logic operationsinto the blockchain. The code may be used to create a temporary datastructure in a virtual machine or other computing platform. Data writtento the blockchain can be public and/or can be encrypted and maintainedas private. The temporary data that is used/generated by the smartcontract is held in memory by the supplied execution environment, thendeleted once the data needed for the blockchain is identified.

A smart contract executable code may include the code interpretation ofa smart contract, with additional features. As described herein, thesmart contract executable code may be program code deployed on acomputing network, where it is executed and validated by chainvalidators together during a consensus process. The smart contractexecutable code receives a hash and retrieves from the blockchain a hashassociated with the data template created by use of a previously storedfeature extractor. If the hashes of the hash identifier and the hashcreated from the stored identifier template data match, then the smartcontract executable code sends an authorization key to the requestedservice. The smart contract executable code may write to the blockchaindata associated with the cryptographic details.

FIG. 6C illustrates a blockchain configuration for storing blockchaintransaction data, according to example embodiments. Referring to FIG.6C, the example configuration 660 provides for the vehicle 662, the userdevice 664 and a server 666 sharing information with a distributedledger (i.e., blockchain) 668. The server may represent a serviceprovider entity inquiring with a vehicle service provider to share userprofile rating information in the event that a known and establisheduser profile is attempting to rent a vehicle with an established ratedprofile. The server 666 may be receiving and processing data related toa vehicle's service requirements. As the service events occur, such asthe vehicle sensor data indicates a need for fuel/charge, a maintenanceservice, etc., a smart contract may be used to invoke rules, thresholds,sensor information gathering, etc., which may be used to invoke thevehicle service event. The blockchain transaction data 670 is saved foreach transaction, such as the access event, the subsequent updates to avehicle's service status, event updates, etc. The transactions mayinclude the parties, the requirements (e.g., 18 years of age, serviceeligible candidate, valid driver's license, etc.), compensation levels,the distance traveled during the event, the registered recipientspermitted to access the event and host a vehicle service,rights/permissions, sensor data retrieved during the vehicle eventoperation to log details of the next service event and identify avehicle's condition status, and thresholds used to make determinationsabout whether the service event was completed and whether the vehicle'scondition status has changed.

FIG. 6D illustrates blockchain blocks 680 that can be added to adistributed ledger, according to example embodiments, and contents ofblock structures 682A to 682 n. Referring to FIG. 6D, clients (notshown) may submit entries to blockchain nodes to enact activity on theblockchain. As an example, clients may be applications that act onbehalf of a requester, such as a device, person or entity to proposeentries for the blockchain. The plurality of blockchain peers (e.g.,blockchain nodes) may maintain a state of the blockchain network and acopy of the distributed ledger. Different types of blockchainnodes/peers may be present in the blockchain network including endorsingpeers, which simulate and endorse entries proposed by clients andcommitting peers which verify endorsements, validate entries, and commitentries to the distributed ledger. In this example, the blockchain nodesmay perform the role of endorser node, committer node, or both.

The instant system includes a blockchain that stores immutable,sequenced records in blocks, and a state database (current world state)maintaining a current state of the blockchain. One distributed ledgermay exist per channel and each peer maintains its own copy of thedistributed ledger for each channel of which they are a member. Theinstant blockchain is an entry log, structured as hash-linked blockswhere each block contains a sequence of N entries. Blocks may includevarious components such as those shown in FIG. 6D. The linking of theblocks may be generated by adding a hash of a prior block's headerwithin a block header of a current block. In this way, all entries onthe blockchain are sequenced and cryptographically linked togetherpreventing tampering with blockchain data without breaking the hashlinks. Furthermore, because of the links, the latest block in theblockchain represents every entry that has come before it. The instantblockchain may be stored on a peer file system (local or attachedstorage), which supports an append-only blockchain workload.

The current state of the blockchain and the distributed ledger may bestored in the state database. Here, the current state data representsthe latest values for all keys ever included in the chain entry log ofthe blockchain. Smart contract executable code invocations executeentries against the current state in the state database. To make thesesmart contract executable code interactions extremely efficient, thelatest values of all keys are stored in the state database. The statedatabase may include an indexed view into the entry log of theblockchain, it can therefore be regenerated from the chain at any time.The state database may automatically get recovered (or generated ifneeded) upon peer startup, before entries are accepted.

Endorsing nodes receive entries from clients and endorse the entry basedon simulated results. Endorsing nodes hold smart contracts, whichsimulate the entry proposals. When an endorsing node endorses an entry,the endorsing nodes create an entry endorsement, which is a signedresponse from the endorsing node to the client application indicatingthe endorsement of the simulated entry. The method of endorsing an entrydepends on an endorsement policy that may be specified within smartcontract executable code. An example of an endorsement policy is “themajority of endorsing peers must endorse the entry.” Different channelsmay have different endorsement policies. Endorsed entries are forward bythe client application to an ordering service.

The ordering service accepts endorsed entries, orders them into a block,and delivers the blocks to the committing peers. For example, theordering service may initiate a new block when a threshold of entrieshas been reached, a timer times out, or another condition. In thisexample, blockchain node is a committing peer that has received a datablock 682A for storage on the blockchain. The ordering service may bemade up of a cluster of orderers. The ordering service does not processentries, smart contracts, or maintain the shared ledger. Rather, theordering service may accept the endorsed entries and specifies the orderin which those entries are committed to the distributed ledger. Thearchitecture of the blockchain network may be designed such that thespecific implementation of ‘ordering’ (e.g., Solo, Kafka, BFT, etc.)becomes a pluggable component.

Entries are written to the distributed ledger in a consistent order. Theorder of entries is established to ensure that the updates to the statedatabase are valid when they are committed to the network. Unlike acryptocurrency blockchain system (e.g., Bitcoin, etc.) where orderingoccurs through the solving of a cryptographic puzzle, or mining, in thisexample the parties of the distributed ledger may choose the orderingmechanism that best suits that network.

Referring to FIG. 6D, a block 682A (also referred to as a data block)that is stored on the blockchain and/or the distributed ledger mayinclude multiple data segments such as a block header 684A to 684 n,transaction-specific data 686A to 686 n, and block metadata 688A to 688n. It should be appreciated that the various depicted blocks and theircontents, such as block 682A and its contents are merely for purposes ofan example and are not meant to limit the scope of the exampleembodiments. In some cases, both the block header 684A and the blockmetadata 688A may be smaller than the transaction-specific data 686A,which stores entry data; however, this is not a requirement. The block682A may store transactional information of N entries (e.g., 100, 500,1000, 2000, 3000, etc.) within the block data 690A to 690 n. The block682A may also include a link to a previous block (e.g., on theblockchain) within the block header 684A. In particular, the blockheader 684A may include a hash of a previous block's header. The blockheader 684A may also include a unique block number, a hash of the blockdata 690A of the current block 682A, and the like. The block number ofthe block 682A may be unique and assigned in an incremental/sequentialorder starting from zero. The first block in the blockchain may bereferred to as a genesis block, which includes information about theblockchain, its members, the data stored therein, etc.

The block data 690A may store entry information of each entry that isrecorded within the block. For example, the entry data may include oneor more of a type of the entry, a version, a timestamp, a channel ID ofthe distributed ledger, an entry ID, an epoch, a payload visibility, asmart contract executable code path (deploy tx), a smart contractexecutable code name, a smart contract executable code version, input(smart contract executable code and functions), a client (creator)identify such as a public key and certificate, a signature of theclient, identities of endorsers, endorser signatures, a proposal hash,smart contract executable code events, response status, namespace, aread set (list of key and version read by the entry, etc.), a write set(list of key and value, etc.), a start key, an end key, a list of keys,a Merkel tree query summary, and the like. The entry data may be storedfor each of the N entries.

In some embodiments, the block data 690A may also storetransaction-specific data 686A, which adds additional information to thehash-linked chain of blocks in the blockchain. Accordingly, the data686A can be stored in an immutable log of blocks on the distributedledger. Some of the benefits of storing such data 686A are reflected inthe various embodiments disclosed and depicted herein. The blockmetadata 688A may store multiple fields of metadata (e.g., as a bytearray, etc.). Metadata fields may include signature on block creation, areference to a last configuration block, an entry filter identifyingvalid and invalid entries within the block, last offset persisted of anordering service that ordered the block, and the like. The signature,the last configuration block, and the orderer metadata may be added bythe ordering service. Meanwhile, a committer of the block (such as ablockchain node) may add validity/invalidity information based on anendorsement policy, verification of read/write sets, and the like. Theentry filter may include a byte array of a size equal to the number ofentries in the block data 610A and a validation code identifying whetheran entry was valid/invalid.

The other blocks 682B to 682 n in the blockchain also have headers,files, and values. However, unlike the first block 682A, each of theheaders 684A to 684 n in the other blocks includes the hash value of animmediately preceding block. The hash value of the immediately precedingblock may be just the hash of the header of the previous block or may bethe hash value of the entire previous block. By including the hash valueof a preceding block in each of the remaining blocks, a trace can beperformed from the Nth block back to the genesis block (and theassociated original file) on a block-by-block basis, as indicated byarrows 692, to establish an auditable and immutable chain-of-custody.

The above embodiments may be implemented in hardware, in a computerprogram executed by a processor, in firmware, or in a combination of theabove. A computer program may be embodied on a computer readable medium,such as a storage medium. For example, a computer program may reside inrandom access memory (“RAM”), flash memory, read-only memory (“ROM”),erasable programmable read-only memory (“EPROM”), electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (“EEPROM”), registers, hard disk, aremovable disk, a compact disk read-only memory (“CD-ROM”), or any otherform of storage medium known in the art.

An exemplary storage medium may be coupled to the processor such thatthe processor may read information from, and write information to, thestorage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integralto the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in anapplication-specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”). In the alternative,the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components.For example, FIG. 7 illustrates an example computer system architecture700, which may represent or be integrated in any of the above-describedcomponents, etc.

FIG. 7 is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of useor functionality of embodiments of the application described herein.Regardless, the computing node 700 is capable of being implementedand/or performing any of the functionality set forth hereinabove.

In computing node 700 there is a computer system/server 702, which isoperational with numerous other general purpose or special purposecomputing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-knowncomputing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may besuitable for use with computer system/server 702 include, but are notlimited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thinclients, thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based systems, set-top boxes, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframecomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

Computer system/server 702 may be described in the general context ofcomputer system-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer system. Generally, program modules may includeroutines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and soon that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes. Computer system/server 702 may be practiced in distributed cloudcomputing environments where tasks are performed by remote processingdevices that are linked through a communications network. In adistributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be locatedin both local and remote computer system storage media including memorystorage devices.

As shown in FIG. 7 , computer system/server 702 in cloud computing node700 is shown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. Thecomponents of computer system/server 702 may include, but are notlimited to, one or more processors or processing units 704, a systemmemory 706, and a bus that couples various system components includingsystem memory 706 to processor 704.

The bus represents one or more of any of several types of busstructures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheralbus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus usingany of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and notlimitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture(ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA)bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, andPeripheral Component Interconnects (PCI) bus.

Computer system/server 702 typically includes a variety of computersystem readable media. Such media may be any available media that isaccessible by computer system/server 702, and it includes both volatileand non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. System memory706, in one example, implements the flow diagrams of the other figures.The system memory 706 can include computer system readable media in theform of volatile memory, such as random-access memory (RAM) 708 and/orcache memory 710. Computer system/server 702 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, memory 706 can be provided for readingfrom and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media (notshown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, amagnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable,non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided.In such instances, each can be connected to the bus by one or more datamedia interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below,memory 706 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g.,at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out thefunctions of various embodiments of the application.

Program/utility, having a set (at least one) of program modules, may bestored in memory 706 by way of example, and not limitation, as well asan operating system, one or more application programs, other programmodules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one or moreapplication programs, other program modules, and program data or somecombination thereof, may include an implementation of a networkingenvironment. Program modules generally carry out the functions and/ormethodologies of various embodiments of the application as describedherein.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentapplication may be embodied as a system, method, or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present application may take theform of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present application may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Computer system/server 702 may also communicate with one or moreexternal devices via an I/O device 712 (such as an I/O adapter), whichmay include a keyboard, a pointing device, a display, a voicerecognition module, etc., one or more devices that enable a user tointeract with computer system/server 702, and/or any devices (e.g.,network card, modem, etc.) that enable computer system/server 702 tocommunicate with one or more other computing devices. Such communicationcan occur via I/O interfaces of the device 712. Still yet, computersystem/server 702 can communicate with one or more networks such as alocal area network (LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or apublic network (e.g., the Internet) via a network adapter. As depicted,device 712 communicates with the other components of computersystem/server 702 via a bus. It should be understood that although notshown, other hardware and/or software components could be used inconjunction with computer system/server 702. Examples, include, but arenot limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units,external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data archivalstorage systems, etc.

Although an exemplary embodiment of at least one of a system, method,and non-transitory computer readable medium has been illustrated in theaccompanied drawings and described in the foregoing detaileddescription, it will be understood that the application is not limitedto the embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements,modifications, and substitutions as set forth and defined by thefollowing claims. For example, the capabilities of the system of thevarious figures can be performed by one or more of the modules orcomponents described herein or in a distributed architecture and mayinclude a transmitter, receiver or pair of both. For example, all orpart of the functionality performed by the individual modules, may beperformed by one or more of these modules. Further, the functionalitydescribed herein may be performed at various times and in relation tovarious events, internal or external to the modules or components. Also,the information sent between various modules can be sent between themodules via at least one of: a data network, the Internet, a voicenetwork, an Internet Protocol network, a wireless device, a wired deviceand/or via plurality of protocols. Also, the messages sent or receivedby any of the modules may be sent or received directly and/or via one ormore of the other modules.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that a “system” could be embodiedas a personal computer, a server, a console, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a cell phone, a tablet computing device, a smartphoneor any other suitable computing device, or combination of devices.Presenting the above-described functions as being performed by a“system” is not intended to limit the scope of the present applicationin any way but is intended to provide one example of many embodiments.Indeed, methods, systems and apparatuses disclosed herein may beimplemented in localized and distributed forms consistent with computingtechnology.

It should be noted that some of the system features described in thisspecification have been presented as modules to more particularlyemphasize their implementation independence. For example, a module maybe implemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom very-large-scaleintegration (VLSI) circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductorssuch as logic chips, transistors, or other discrete components. A modulemay also be implemented in programmable hardware devices such asfield-programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmablelogic devices, graphics processing units, or the like.

A module may also be at least partially implemented in software forexecution by various types of processors. An identified unit ofexecutable code may, for instance, comprise one or more physical orlogical blocks of computer instructions that may, for instance, beorganized as an object, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, theexecutables of an identified module need not be physically locatedtogether but may comprise disparate instructions stored in differentlocations that, when joined logically together, comprise the module andachieve the stated purpose for the module. Further, modules may bestored on a computer-readable medium, which may be, for instance, a harddisk drive, flash device, random access memory (RAM), tape, or any othersuch medium used to store data.

Indeed, a module of executable code could be a single instruction, ormany instructions, and may even be distributed over several differentcode segments, among different programs, and across several memorydevices. Similarly, operational data may be identified and illustratedherein within modules and may be embodied in any suitable form andorganized within any suitable type of data structure. The operationaldata may be collected as a single data set or may be distributed overdifferent locations, including over different storage devices, and mayexist, at least partially, merely as electronic signals on a system ornetwork.

It will be readily understood that the components of the application, asgenerally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may bearranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations.Thus, the detailed description of the embodiments is not intended tolimit the scope of the application as claimed but is merelyrepresentative of selected embodiments of the application.

One having ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that theabove may be practiced with steps in a different order and/or withhardware elements in configurations that are different from those whichare disclosed. Therefore, although the application has been describedbased upon these preferred embodiments, it would be apparent to those ofskill in the art that certain modifications, variations, and alternativeconstructions would be apparent.

While preferred embodiments of the present application have beendescribed, it is to be understood that the embodiments described areillustrative only and the scope of the application is to be definedsolely by the appended claims when considered with a full range ofequivalents and modifications (e.g., protocols, hardware devices,software platforms etc.) thereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving, by a server,vehicle identification data from at least two components in a vehicleand device data from a device associated with the vehicle; sending, bythe server, the vehicle identification data to the device and the devicedata to the at least two components in the vehicle; and pre-pairing thevehicle and the device, based on the sending.
 2. The method of claim 1,comprising: pairing the pre-paired vehicle and the pre-paired devicewhen they are proximate one another.
 3. The method of claim 2,comprising: communicating between the at least two components in thepaired vehicle and the paired device.
 4. The method of claim 1,comprising: authenticating, by the server, ownership information for thevehicle with a digital key and the vehicle identification data, whereinthe device data comprises the ownership information for the vehicle. 5.The method of claim 1, comprising: verifying compatibility between thevehicle identification data and the device data; assigning an identifierto a combination of the vehicle and the device; sending, by the server,the identifier to the vehicle and the device; and authenticatingcommunications between the server and the device while paired, with theidentifier.
 6. The method of claim 1, comprising: receiving a requestfrom another device to pair with the vehicle; sending a notification tothe device to approve the request; approving, by the device, therequest; and pre-pairing the other device with the vehicle, by theserver.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein in response to pre-pairing thevehicle and the device, the method comprises: receiving, by the server,vehicle identification data from at least two components in one or moreother vehicles; verifying common ownership of the vehicle and the one ormore other vehicles; and pre-pairing the one or more other vehicles andthe device, based on the verified common ownership.
 8. A system,comprising: a processor; and a memory, wherein the processor and memoryare communicably coupled, the memory comprising instructions that whenexecuted by the processor are configured to: receive, by a server,vehicle identification data from at least two components in a vehicleand device data from a device associated with the vehicle; send, by theserver, the vehicle identification data to the device and the devicedata to the at least two components in the vehicle; and pre-pair thevehicle and the device, based on the server sends the vehicleidentification data.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the instructionsare configured to: pair the pre-paired vehicle and the pre-paired devicewhen they are proximate one another.
 10. The system of claim 8, whereinthe instructions are configured to: communicate between the at least twocomponents in the paired vehicle and the paired device.
 11. The systemof claim 8, wherein the instructions are configured to: authenticate, bythe server, ownership information for the vehicle with a digital key andthe vehicle identification data, wherein the device data comprises theownership information for the vehicle.
 12. The system of claim 8,wherein the instructions are configured to: verify compatibility betweenthe vehicle identification data and the device data; assign anidentifier to a combination of the vehicle and the device; send, by theserver, the identifier to the vehicle and the device; and authenticatecommunications between the server and the device while paired, with theidentifier.
 13. The system of claim 8, wherein the instructions areconfigured to: receive a request from another device to pair with thevehicle; send a notification to the device to approve the request;approve, by the device, the request; and pre-pair the other device withthe vehicle, by the server.
 14. The system of claim 8, wherein inresponse to the server pre-pairs the vehicle and the device, theinstructions are configured to: receive, by the server, vehicleidentification data from at least two components in one or more othervehicles; verify common ownership of the vehicle and the one or moreother vehicles; and pre-pair the one or more other vehicles and thedevice, based on the verified common ownership.
 15. A computer readablestorage medium comprising instructions, that when read by a processor,cause the processor to perform: receiving, by a server, vehicleidentification data from at least two components in a vehicle and devicedata from a device associated with the vehicle; sending, by the server,the vehicle identification data to the device and the device data to theat least two components in the vehicle; and pre-pairing the vehicle andthe device, based on the sending.
 16. The computer readable storagemedium of claim 15, wherein the instructions cause the processor toperform: pairing the pre-paired vehicle and the pre-paired device whenthey are proximate one another.
 17. The computer readable storage mediumof claim 15, wherein the instructions cause the processor to perform:communicating between the at least two components in the paired vehicleand the paired device.
 18. The computer readable storage medium of claim15, wherein the instructions cause the processor to perform:authenticating, by the server, ownership information for the vehiclewith a digital key and the vehicle identification data, wherein thedevice data comprises the ownership information for the vehicle.
 19. Thecomputer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the instructionscause the processor to perform: verifying compatibility between thevehicle identification data and the device data; assigning an identifierto a combination of the vehicle and the device; sending, by the server,the identifier to the vehicle and the device; and authenticatingcommunications between the server and the device while paired, with theidentifier.
 20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15,wherein the instructions cause the processor to perform: receiving arequest from another device to pair with the vehicle; sending anotification to the device to approve the request; approving, by thedevice, the request; and pre-pairing the other device with the vehicle,by the server.